


Age Of Blood

by Basmasadek



Series: Avenging Hunters [4]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Supernatural, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Anxiety Attacks, Blood and Torture, Canon-Typical Violence, Christmas Fluff, Christmas Presents, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Married Castiel/Dean Winchester, Married Steve Rogers/Tony Stark, Panic Attacks, Soul Bond, Superhusbands, Team as Family, World War II, hunter husbands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-09-19
Packaged: 2019-06-09 13:42:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 59
Words: 115,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15268692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Basmasadek/pseuds/Basmasadek
Summary: A visitor from the future caused trouble in the present, which led Dean and Tony into an unplanned trip to the past where they faced an old enemy of Castiel's  with the help of a very familiar face.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, Guys! I hope you didn't forget about me. Sorry this one took to long until I start posting it. I needed to make sure I know how I wanted the story to go before I start posting it. This is probably the hardest fic I have ever written.
> 
> I just need to point some things out first:
> 
> -English is not my first language, So if you find any mistakes feel free to point them out.
> 
> -This fic is mostly historically inaccurate. I tried but nobody is perfect.
> 
> -Probably mostly scientifically inaccurate too. I am in art school, so scince isn't my strongest suit but I tried my best. 
> 
> \- I have zero knowledge about the military and the military terms outside my country. I did research however, but if anything was wrong or inaccurate please ignore it.
> 
> -Most the people from the past are purley my creation and if they match real people then it is completely by accident.
> 
> -This fic is inspired by an Egyptian book series.
> 
> \- You can read this one as a stand alone but you will be confused about a few things like how did they meet, situations that happened between them and whatnot, So if you have time I suggest you read the first three parts first. If not, I tried to clarify everything you will need to know as much as possible.
> 
>  
> 
> I hope you enjoy! please comment and tell me what you think.

“What the hell would you get someone who have everything and could afford the things he doesn’t already have?”

 Dean groaned in frustration as he exited the seventh store they were in with Castiel and Sam following miserably behind him.

“That’s the sixth time you ask that question and we still don’t know its answer.” Castiel retorted dryly, tired from shopping all day. Dean couldn’t really blame him, they never really needed to go shopping before so it was taking its toll on the three of them.

Christmas was approaching fast, which meant their first Christmas with the Avengers. Which meant getting actual gifts for them. Gifts that needs shopping.

They were in New York for Christmas. A fact that caused a long argument between Dean and Tony. Tony wanted the whole huge Christmas party in the tower, with lots of guests and lots of drinking. While Dean wanted it to be spent in the bunker with just them and the Avengers, a small family thing. After long arguments and interfering from the team, Tony agreed to compromise. They will spend Christmas in the Tower but will be a family thing. No big parties or a room filled with hundreds of strangers. Just the Winchesters and The team.

So, here they were, the Winchesters were in a mall shopping for gifts like normal people. Gifts for a team of superheroes that became their family. Totally normal.

The Avengers were now a part of their lives for eight months now. Eight months since the invasion that lead them to meet the team. It felt like forever not just months.

They were inseparable. Their lives now revolves around each other. A family. They fight villains together. Go to missions together. Natasha and Clint even went with them on a few hunts now. Dean could barely remember their lives before they met the team. It felt like they were always meant to be a family.

The whole thing with Cas’ anger curse two months ago only managed to make them closer. And stronger. Tony never missed a day of training with Castiel after the angel removed the cast from his broken leg and became pretty good at fighting without his armor in short months from how determined he was. In fact, the whole team train together now to learn each other’s fighting tactics and learn from them. They once made a competition, two would spar against each other, and the winner would fight another and so on.  Dean was proud to announce that he once managed to pin down Steve. A fact he will never stop gloating about.

During those months, Sam and Natasha became even more disgustingly in love. It was cute to see his moose of a brother make lovey dovey eyes at a deadly, ex Russian assassin who looked at him the same way, it was too adorable and lovely and Dean will tease him for it for as long as he lived. He was absolutely thrilled for his brother for finding happiness like he did, and he could tell the team was equally thrilled for Natasha if the grins they kept giving her was anything to go by.

Their lives had changed so much in eight months. And Dean was incredibly happy about that.

He was pulled back to the present when he heard Sam and Cas discuss what the moose should get Natasha.

Oh, right. They were still looking for gifts.

Which brought him back to his current crises. What should he get for Tony fucking Stark? He already got gifts for most of the team now but then when it came Tony’s turn, him, Sam and Cas hit a dead-end and had no idea what to do.

“Now what?” he sighed as he turned to his brother and husband who looked equally lost.

“I don’t know. You are closer to him, what do you think he needs?” Sam asked curiously.

“Probably some sleep before Steve murders him, he had been awake for 48 hours now.” Dean rolled his eyes in frustration.

“What is he doing?” Castiel looked at him in confusion.

“Some new project that either my brain couldn’t comprehend or Tony is trying to mislead me or something since I don’t understand a word he says when I ask him what the hell is he doing.”

“Alright, then we have nothing.” Sam muttered. “Let’s check that store over there, we might actually find something this time.”

“Don’t hold your breath.”

***

Tony rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he kept messing with the holoscreens in front of him.

God, he was tired. Apparently he no longer could stay in the workshop for days and train to fight at the same time. His body needs its beauty sleep and he was pretty sure Steve will murder him when he gets back from DC and find him like this. It wasn’t by choice! He couldn’t handle sleeping alone in their bed and Steve had to go to DC with Natasha and Clint to do something Tony wasn’t really sure about, and also his erratic thoughts about the gifts he was making for the Winchesters would keep him awake anyway, so Steve could suck it.

“Sir, Captain Stark-Rogers just came back and he is on his way to the workshop.” JARVIS’ voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

Oh shit.

_Steve is going to kill him._

He slapped himself a few times to try and look more awake when he heard the glass door opening behind him.

“Hey, sweetheart. I am back!” he heard Steve’s cheerful voice from behind him and felt warmth spread through him.

He turned around with a fond smile that made Steve’s smile gets wider and he walked towards him to crush him in a hug.

Tony rested his head on his husband’s shoulder and breathed him in. “God, I missed you.”

“It was only two days, Tony.” Steve chuckled into his hair.

“Felt like months.”

Steve just laughed and kissed him softly on the top of his head. “I missed you too, Sweetheart.”

“Are you going to tell me now why you were gone in the first place?”

Steve pulled back to look at him so he could answer, but he frowned suddenly as he took in Tony’s appearance. “You didn’t sleep, did you?”

Well, shit.

“I asked a question first.” He retorted trying to divert him.

Steve gave him a stern glare. He absolutely hated it when Tony didn’t take care of himself. Tony was doing better! But this was important and he had to get it done!

“Fine, I went to DC to talk to Fury about something.” Steve relented but his glare never lessened.

“Talk to him about what?” Tony looked at him in confusion.

“Just organizing a little gift for the Winchesters with help from Nat and Clint.” Steve let out a small smile.

“Sounds important if it meant SHIELD are involved.” Tony raised his eyebrows in curiosity.

“You will find out on Christmas day. Now, what are making that kept you awake for two days?”

“You will find out on Christmas day.” Tony parroted with a smug smile. “Now if you will excuse me, I promised Dean to go shopping with him since he seemed terrified of going to a mall by himself.”

“Can’t really blame him.”

***

“Are you going to tell me why are we here?” Tony groaned tiredly as he walked beside Dean through the mall.  “I thought you finished all your shopping yesterday when you went out with Sam and Cas for the whole day. And why me?”

“I did. But can’t really get Sam and Cas’ gifts while they are with me.” Dean answered with a roll from his eyes. “And since it was you who insisted on being in New York so you are stuck with me on this since I prefer to die over coming here on my own.”

“Fair enough.” Tony muttered with a sigh. He let his eyes wander as he walked until they landed on something and he grabbed Dean’s arm to get him inside the store that got his attention. “Hey, won’t Cas like that?”

Dean glanced at what Tony was pointing at and saw that it was a peanut butter maker.

“Pretty sure he will. Couldn’t exactly afford it.” Dean just shrugged after checking its price and walked out of the store, Tony hot on his heels.

“You do realize that I have money, right?” Tony looked at him like he was an idiot.

“Good for you. What does that have to do with anything?” Dean gave him a blank look.

Tony was taken aback by Dean’s response and stopped to look at him in confusion.

“Uhm, you know. I could-“

“Wait, wait. Is that really what you thought? That I asked you to come with me for your money?” Dean looked sternly at Tony with a raised eyebrow.

Tony blinked at him a few times. Not really sure how to respond. Honestly? That was always his first thought when anyone got close to him or asked him to tag along for something. Well, everyone except Steve who always absolutely refused to take any of Tony’s money and relying on his army pension that was pretty large to be honest. But usually, he came to expect that his money came first to almost everyone.

When his silence got longer, Dean just sighed and softened a little and placed a hand on Tony’s shoulder.

“Dude, I don’t care about your money and I never will. I asked you to come with me because I want your company. Nothing else. Are we clear on that?”

Tony just nodded dumbly, looking at Dean with wide eyes.

“Good. Now come on, let’s check that store.”

***

Steve entered the communal room with Natasha to find Sam and Castiel sitting on a table surrounded by wrapping paper and gift boxes with deep confused frowns on their faces.

“You guys okay?” he asked walking over to them.

The two Winchesters looked up at him and blinked a few times like they didn’t know how to answer him.

“You don’t know how to wrap a gift, do you?” Natasha stated with a fond smirk and a raised eyebrow.

“To be fair, as an angel I never really needed that particular skill.” Castiel mumbled with a scowl on his face.

“And I never really needed to learn how, we barley even celebrated Christmas.” Sam sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose.

That really pulled at Steve’s heart. He knew that The Winchesters’ lives were hard. Filled with pain, mourning and death. They never really felt like celebrating any of the holidays and he didn’t blame them for it. He couldn’t imagine dealing with what they dealt with.

That’s why he was determined to make this Christmas worth it for them. They deserved to be happy. Deserved to have a family that loved them. So, he made sure to make everyone decorate the tower themselves and not rent people to do it. It was hilarious to watch Thor and Sam on step ladders to decorate the high places since they were the tallest, also watching Dean and Tony argue about what they should put on the large tree in the middle of the living room while the others were decorating around the tower with him and Castiel carrying the heavy stuff.

It was very nice, made him forget about his anxiety with the falling snow and the cold for a while. Yup, that’s right, he still couldn’t handle the cold and the sight of the snow made him antsy and a little unstable. It was better than before of course with Tony’s help along the years, but he was sure he will never be comfortable with the cold and snow ever again. And this family atmosphere made him forget about it for a while. And the sight of the decorated Christmas tree made the panic attack he had when it snowed on him while getting it all worth it.

He made sure to not let Tony know about that but he suspects he already figured it out.

He was pulled from his thoughts when Natasha sat down next to Sam and grabbed one of the gift boxes to help him wrap it.

He took another seat on the table to help out too.

“Captain America can wrap gifts?” Sam smirked teasingly at him while Castiel chuckled as he watched Steve’s moves as he wrapped the gift to copy it.

“Believe it or not, Captain America was actually a human being before the serum.” Steve rolled his eyes with a smile.

“You have to admit, it is kind of exhilarating to see you do anything other than being a moral compass and a stubborn asshole.” Natasha smirked over at him as she finished wrapping the gift and moved on to another one.

“Jeez, thanks I can feel the love radiating from you.” Steve rolled his eyes again and glared at her.

That, unfortunately, something he had to deal with from almost everybody. That most people sees him as a symbol, as the Captain. And mostly forgets that there was just a guy in there. He knew Natasha and Sam were just teasing him like the rest of their family. But other people became genuinely shocked when he did a normal thing in front of them. Like they seriously forgets he was human. And it was taking its toll on him.

He looked up from the finished gift to see Castiel smiling at him in understanding. Like he knew what he was thinking about. Steve felt himself smile back at him and his tensed shoulders relaxed again.

He was with his family. The family that knows him completely. There is no need to be tensed.

The cold really was playing with his nerves.

“Where is everybody anyway?” Natasha asked, breaking the comfortable silence a few minutes later.

“Thor went to Asgard. Getting a few things from there from what I gathered from him. Clint and Bruce are off doing God only knows what. Tony and Dean went to the mall.” He replied, never taking his eyes off what he was doing.

“Tony and Dean went to the mall?” Castiel asked while furrowing his brows. Steve looked at him and saw that he managed to wrap four gifts from watching him doing it. God, he was a fast learner. “I think we should check on them. They might get caught up in an argument and stay there forever until one of them wins.”

“Nah, don’t worry. Tony didn’t sleep for two days, he will let Dean win all the arguments since he was too tired to try and win any.”

“These two are going to kill me from their bickering.” Natasha muttered with a glare. “It was like they insist to disagree on everything just to make the other frustrated and they keep at it, refusing to back down from how stubborn they are.”

“Honestly? I am really happy about their friendship.” Castiel commented with a fond smile. “No matter how loud and annoying it was, I am really glad to see them like this.”

“Yeah, I sure knew Tony needed that kind of friendship.” Steve agreed with a smile.

“As long as it keeps Dean preoccupied from teasing the hell out of me, I am glad.” Sam smirked making them all chuckle.

Just then, the aforementioned best friends entered the room with their hands filled with shopping bags, as usual bickering loudly.

“Just because we saw more Iron Man action figures and lots of people asked for your autograph that doesn’t mean you are the strongest Avenger.” Dean objected with a frown.

“Maybe not, but it means that I am definitely the coolest.” Tony countered with a smug smile.

“No, it meant you were the only Avenger seen on the street then.” Dean retorted with a smirk.

“You are just jealous no one asked for your autograph.”

“Dude, I am technically dead years ago. As a wanted criminal. I am surprised no one asked questions about why there are two dead serial killers and an unknown man seen fighting with the Avengers for a few months now.” Dean rolled his eyes as he made his way to their table.

Steve and Natasha shared a smirk that made the other two Winchesters look at them with confusion.

“Yeah, I wonder why.” Natasha commented with the smirk still on her face.

      

 

 

 

           


	2. Chapter 2

Steve and Tony were in their room, arranging the gifts they got to place it under the tree.

“I thought you were going out today to meet Fury or something?” Tony inquired looking over at his husband.

“I was. But not going to. Hopefully will tomorrow.” Steve murmured looking distant and unsettled.

Tony really looked at him then, and saw that his shoulders were tense, his hands shook a little every few minutes and was avoiding looking out of the floor to ceiling windows in their room. Tony looked over at the windows and immediately understood what was going on.

It was snowing. Heavily. Everything was covered in snow and obviously looked very cold outside.

Tony’s heart clinched painfully in his chest. Winter was always a very hard time for Steve every year. His mother died in winter. He lost Bucky in winter. His plane crash was in winter. Not to mention being frozen for seventy years.

So you could say that Steve didn’t deal with winters very well. Always plagued by nightmares that made him wake up screaming and panic attacks that left him frozen in place, unable to breathe probably and body shaking violently.

Captain America might be invincible. But Steve wasn’t. And that’s a fact that shook Tony every time he remembers it.

He gently took Steve’s shaking hands in his and kissed them sweetly before looking up at his husband’s exhausted eyes. His eyes would almost look heavy all the time. Heavy from everything he had seen. A certain sadness always lingering there.

“Come on, let’s take these gifts to the large pile under the tree and make some hot cocoa. What do you say?” he murmured while softly kissing all over the Soldier’s face.

He saw Steve’s shoulders relax a little and he gave him a sweet smile as his eyes brightened.

“I’d love that.”

***

“This is bizarre.” Dean murmured as he finished wrapping the small gift in his hands. It was Castiel’s gift, so he made sure to wrap it probably. Not that Cas would care anyway, he won’t care even if Dean wrapped it in a newspaper. But Dean wanted to do it right for once.

“What’s bizarre?” Castiel asked not taking his eyes from his task. Dean insisted that Cas would write the names on the gifts, partially because Castiel’s handwriting was so damn elegant it was surreal and partially because he was too lazy to do it himself. Which Castiel probably know it but he indulge him anyway. Like always.

“This. All of this. The gifts. The wrapping paper. The domestic, homely feel about it all. It is just… weird. Good weird. Definitely good weird. But I just-“ He cut himself off when he didn’t know how to voice how he felt about all of this and he just stared at Cas looking lost.

Castiel looked up then and gazed at him with a small frown. He searched Dean’s face for a few seconds before he seemed to understand what’s going on in Dean’s brain. Of course he understands, he was Cas. He can read Dean like an open book and understood what Dean feels and think better than Dean himself.

“You think this is too good to be true.” Castiel announced looking at him intensely. “You feel everything will go to shit eventually since you think that the universe hates us and will somehow smack us on our faces in some way.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” He sighed not denying anything. What’s the point? Cas will know he was lying anyway.

“Well, I can’t really tell you that you don’t need to worry and that everything will be fine. Because things will never be always fine. With the life we lead, it can’t be possible.” he started, firmly but gently and gave him a small smile. “But what I can tell you is that we are not alone in this anymore. The three of us don’t need to face everything on our own anymore. Our family is bigger and stronger now. Whatever the universe throw our way, we will face it. Together.” He reached out and took Dean’s hand in his and squeezed it gently. “But for now, let’s enjoy these quiet moments we have.”

Dean just stared at his husband’s eyes and felt himself relax immediately and squeezed Cas’ hand back while giving him a small smile and a nod. How did he manage to survive without this man in his life?

Castiel nodded back, the smile still on his face, then reached to the gift Dean just finished wrapping.

“Now, whose name should I write on this one?” he asked looking expectantly at Dean.

“Uh…”

“…this is mine, isn’t it?”

“Maybe? Don’t you dare to open it!” he exclaimed when Castiel made a move to do just that.

“Fine.” The angel just rolled his eyes, then brought it up to write his own name on it and made sure to write in his most elegant way possible.

“Show off.” Dean muttered as he snatched the gift from a smirking Castiel’s hand.

***

“Hey, Steve. Tony” Natasha greeted as she took a seat in front of them on the kitchen table where he was setting, hunched over his large mug of cocoa while Tony drank from his own mug next to him. “I went to Fury today.”

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t go with you.” he apologized but didn’t elaborate on why he didn’t go. She just shrugged and dismissed his apology.

“Don’t worry about it. You didn’t need to go anyway. I finished everything already.”

“So everything is set?”

“Absolutely.”

“Are you guys going to tell me what the fuck are you talking about?” Tony interjected with a frown, not liking the fact that he didn’t understand a word they were saying.

Steve wordlessly pulled out the swear jar from his pocket, placing it in front of Tony, who muttered another curse but pulled out the dollars without protest.

The swear jar became a constant thing in the past months. Steve would always keep it in his pocket at all times. And when his super hearing catch anyone swearing, he would just pull it out and held it in front of the culprit to pay up. Everyone stopped protesting and complaining about it, they would just sigh and pay knowing that it was no use anyway since Steve was ready to stand there forever until they pay up.

“You will know soon, Tony. Christmas is in two days anyway.” Natasha answered with a smug smirk.

“What bugs me even more is the fact that you and Clint know about it and I don’t.” he glared accusingly at Steve with a scowl.

“I needed their help to do it, Tony. So I had to tell them.” Steve rolled his eyes at him with a smile.

“I still feel betrayed.”

“I will make it up to you tonight.” Steve gave him a sly smile and a raise eyebrow.

“That’s more like it.” Tony grinned at him and leaned closer to him. “Why wait till night?”

“Partially because I am still setting right here.” Natasha interrupted with a dry look.

“Why are you still setting here anyway? Usually you are off doing things I don’t want to know about with the too-tall-to-be-true Winchester.”

“Thor took him away. He insisted that Sam teaches him how to use a laptop and e-mails. Didn’t say why.”

“I really don’t envy Sam right now.” Tony winced in sympathy.

Just then, Sam entered the room, hair wild like he was running his hands in it for hours in frustration, and dropped himself on a chair next to Nat and slammed his face on the table.

“I officially hate laptops.” Sam muttered into the table while Nat rubbed his shoulders in sympathy. “I taught Castiel how to use them, and he is over billions of years old but it wasn’t that hard.”

Steve and Tony couldn’t help the snorts they let out, and when Sam looked up at them with a frown they burst out laughing, Natasha soon following them while Sam just kept glaring and slamming his head on the table.

 

     

         

 


	3. Chapter 3

It was finally Christmas day.

Dean woke up with a protesting back, since he fell asleep half on Castiel on the coach last night while the whole team was watching classic Christmas movies.  Of course, they were all drunk from the eggnog spiked by Thor’s Asgardian booze that made them gloriously drunk, even Steve and Castiel. Which what made them all fell asleep in the communal living room in front of the TV.

Dean straightened up from where he was leaning on Castiel’s shoulder all night and felt his back and neck crack painfully. Maybe it wasn’t very smart to fall asleep in here. He looked around the room at the rest of the team.

Castiel was leaning on the arm of the coach beside him his head thrown back in an uncomfortable way, Sam was on the other side of the couch pretty much in the same position as Cas with Nat sleeping on his lap with her lower back on Dean’s lap and her legs on Castiel’s. Steve was sitting on the floor in front of Dean, his back leaning against Dean’s knees with Tony’s head in his lap and rest of his body sprawled on the floor. Rhodey was using Tony’s legs as a pillow, Charlie’s head was on Rhodey’s stomach while her legs thrown on Steve’s own legs. Thor and Bruce were on another coach with Thor pretty much crushing Bruce with Clint leaning against the scientist’s knees on the floor. They were all still sleeping deeply with the occasional snore coming from someone.

Dean couldn’t help but grin at the sight, despite the raging headache he felt and the aching of his body. The way they were all comfortable with each other was so nice and made Dean feel warm all over. He found himself reaching for his phone and snapping pictures.

Rhodey and Charlie arrived the day before. It was nice to have them. He really liked Rhodey, he was cool and one of the few people who won’t take Tony’s bullshit which was something they bonded over much to Tony’s chagrin. Charlie had fit right in, she got closer to Nat who would spend the whole day with doing ‘Girls talk’ whatever that was, and of course the fact that Charlie was elated to be around her favorite ‘ships’ and now was also ‘shipping’ Sam and Natasha was making her extra cheerful and fangirly sometimes. Dean didn’t understand a word she said and he really didn’t want to.

He accidentally jostled Steve awake when he moved his legs a little, which in turn woke Tony who when he moved awoke Rhodey and Charlie too. While they were blinking blearily, unsure where they were, their movements awakened the rest of the room.

“Whoever is knocking in my head seriously needs to stop.” Tony groaned while he held his head in his hands.

“God, don’t speak too loudly.” Steve moaned while holding his own head.

The whole room was filled with groans of pain from the hangover. Meanwhile, Castiel just stretched and looked around the room with a bright smile that earned him glares from around the room.

“What?” he asked head tilted in confusion.

“Why aren’t you having a hangover?” Steve narrowed his eyes at him.

“Because I am an angel?” he answered with a raised eyebrow, like that explained everything. Which kinda did.

“In that case, you are officially on coffee duty.” Tony muttered while resting his aching head on Steve’s shoulder.

Castiel just rolled his eyes but made to get up anyway. Just before he did, he saw Dean rubbing his head and eyes tiredly. He cupped Dean’s face in his hands and kissed him gently on the forehead, taking Dean’s hangover away with a small amount of his grace and Dean marveled at the relief that spread through him and found himself grinning at his husband.

“Can I have one of those healing touches? I am dying here.” Natasha groaned as she scowled at them. Sam looked like he was about to ask the same thing but too tired to say it.

“Sorry, Red. All mine.” Dean grinned cheekily at her while wrapping an arm around his angel who was chuckling next to him. Natasha scowled even more.

“I really hate you right now.” Steve murmured into his hands. “In fact, I hate you all and I hate Asgard and everything that comes from it. Yes, Thor that includes you too.”

“I am also hating myself currently, Captain.” Thor responded with his face smushed into the couch’s cushions.

Dean just chuckled and got up with Cas to make the miserable team some coffee.

Two hours later, after everyone refilled their mugs three times (Tony six times, much to Steve’s annoyance) and ate breakfast, they felt close to being humans again.  

“Alright, now that we feel almost normal again, let’s go open the gifts before someone passes out.” Steve announced, while getting up from the table. They all followed suit to where the Christmas tree was, under it was a huge pile of gifts that made Dean stare at it with wide eyes.

“That probably will take all day.” Clint muttered as he also stared.

Natasha sat on the floor next to the tree so she could hand over each gift. They followed her lead, ignoring the couches and sat cross-legged on the floor.

A gift after gift were handed over. Some were really nice gifts, others were gag gifts courtesy of Clint. It was hilarious to see Tony opening a gift from Clint, to find that it was a footstool with a note said ‘So you can reach his lips’. It took both him and Steve to hold Tony down from murdering Clint while the others were rolling around in laughter at Tony’s red face and shouts of ‘I am not short!’. Clint’s gift to Steve and Cas and Nat were two different sized gag shirts, Steve’s were one said ‘I am the Captain of this Ship’ with his size while the other said ‘I am fucking the Captain of this ship’ with Tony’s size. Castiel’s were ‘I am a fucking angel’ while the other ‘I am fucking an angel’, Nat’s were ‘I am a spy’ the other ‘I am fucking a spy’. The rest of the team had to interfere since the three couples were two seconds away from murdering him.

Steve was elated by Dean’s gift for him, which was a nice black leather jacket that Dean thought would look nice on him. From Tony’s grin, Dean could tell he thought the same thing.

Charlie’s gifts were all Harry Potter themed much to her excitement, except for Tony’s gift to her. Which turned out to be a high Starktech laptop that made Charlie bounce on Tony and shouting thank yous into his ears.

Natasha’s gift from Tony earned him a very impressive scowl and a very red faced Sam Winchester, since the gift turned out to be a very expensive Victoria Secret lingerie. Tony just grinned while Steve face palmed. Meanwhile, Dean’s gift for her were a photo album of all Sam’s photos he managed to gather, from he was a baby till now, with some embarrassing ones in between. She was excited about it while Sam glared daggers at him. Sam’s gift to her was a beautiful crimson flower necklace that Natasha insisted he wrap around her neck himself. It looked beautiful on her. She was, however, genuinely shocked by Castiel’s gift for her, which turned out to be an Angel blade.

“You are giving me a weapon that could actually kill you?” she asked, eyes wide in shock.

“I trust you with it.” Castiel just shrugged like it was not a big deal. Natasha just kept staring at him in shock but a genuine smile played on her lips. 

Castiel was surprised to get gifts from everyone as well, like he expected that no one would bother which saddened Dean that Castiel would still think that.  He got a very nice black pea coat from Natasha that would look absolutely heavenly on him. Classic clothing always looked amazing on him, but Dean totally preferred him in plaid, which he started to wear more frequently. From Steve, he got the peanut butter maker he saw at the store, which made him glare at Tony who just shrugged while Steve smiled innocently, Dean didn’t care since it made Castiel smile excitedly. Dean held his breath while Castiel opened the hunter’s gift for him.

Castiel pulled out the silver locket and rolled it around in his hand in confusion for a second, before figuring out that it can be opened. He smiled softly then at the picture that was inside, it was from their wedding day, Dean was grinning at the camera while Castiel was smiling his warm smile with his eyes trained on Dean. He loved that picture so much he got it printed and placed on his nightstand. Castiel looked up at him with that exact smile, Dean pulled out an identical locket from his own pocket with the same picture and put it around his own neck, without taking his eyes off Castiel. The angel’s smile widened and he put his own locket around his neck. No words were exchanged between them. Just soft smiles and meaningful looks.

“That was so sappy, I think I am starting to have cavities.” Tony broke their intense staring with a smirk on his face.

They glared at him while Steve rolled his eyes with a smirk as he handed Tony his gift from him.

Tony looked at him suspiciously as he opened it, only for his eyes to widen in awe after he saw what it was.

“Is that your-“

“Yes. Yes, it is.”

Tony pulled out the dog tags from the small box, still staring at Steve with wide, unbelieving eyes.

“You are giving me your dog tags?” he asked, like he still couldn’t believe it.

Steve took them from his hand and put them himself around Tony’s neck.

“Now do you believe it?” Steve smiled sweetly at him with loving eyes.

Tony fisted the tags in his hand as he kept staring at Steve with wide eyes.

 “That was so sappy, I think I am starting to have cavities.” Dean repeated Tony’s earlier sentence while imitating the genius’ voice making everyone chuckle while Tony just looked around like he forgot they were still there.

“I think you broke him.” Rhodey commented to Steve with a smirk. “I never saw him this speechless. I thought it was impossible.”

“Shut up. Both of you.” Tony just glared at Dean then at Rhodey but there was no heat in it and the happy smile on his face didn’t really help much. He just leaned his head on Steve’s shoulder as his smile widened, still fisting the tags in his hand.

“Well, another one for you, Tony. From Dean.” Natasha announced handing over the gift for Tony.

The genius opened it excitedly while Dean fidgeted, expecting him to hate it.

Tony grinned as he pulled out the magnetic wrist band Dean had improved.

“Dude! This is awesome!” Tony exclaimed as he saw the band attach to the closest iron item next Tony. “Why didn’t I think about making an improved one too? This is so cool!”

Dean relaxed as he watched Tony attach the band around his wrist with a grin.

Dean’s gifts were… nicer than he expected. Like really, really nice. For example, Nat got him a pop up hotdog toaster, which was so cool. Steve’s gift, however, was something else.

“Holy shit!”

Steve just grinned, placing the swear jar in front of the still awed Dean who was holding the record album in his hands like someone had just handed him baby Jesus fresh from manger.

“Led Zeppelin IV autographed?!” Dean handled it carefully, turning the album left and right, up and over, noting the cover was in pristine condition and signed by every member of the band.

“I’m told it’s authentic. Tony helped me locate one that was satisfactory.” Steve explained, his grin seeming to be permanent on his face as he watched Dean.

“Dude! This is… awesome! More than awesome! It is just… awesome.” Dean exclaimed, gaze rapt on the cover as he looked over the signatures.

“Glad that you love it.” Steve chuckled as Dean looked up at him with a huge grin on his face.

From Castiel, he got a plaited leather bracelet that seemed to be made by him, his suspicion was confirmed when he looked at the writing on the small metallic circle dangling from it and the saw the words ‘Always with you’ carved by Castiel’s very elegant handwriting.

Dean looked up at Castiel with a fond smile as he traced the words with his thumbs while wrapping the band around his wrist. Castiel returned his smile and Dean could literally see love shining through his eyes.

Dean was pulled rudely from the beautiful moment by Natasha grapping his wrist and pulling him towards her harshly so she can read the words on the band.

“Hey!”

“So that’s your handwriting!” Natasha exclaimed while staring at Cas, completely ignoring Dean’s protests. “I was wondering whose handwriting on the Winchesters’ gifts. That’s it, you are writing everything for me from now on.”

Castiel just chuckled, while Dean pulled his hand back with a glare at her.

“Alright! I told Nat to keep my gifts for you and Steve last since they are awesome.” Tony grinned excitedly after everyone finished opening their gifts and only four remained under the tree.

“Please tell me nothing will go boom into our faces.” Bruce muttered, scooting away just in case.

“Oh, come on, Brucie! Have some little faith in me.” Tony just rolled his eyes and moved to get the four gifts in front of him and handed Steve his first. Then, bounced excitedly as he grinned at him. “Come on, babe! Open it!”

Steve eyed him and the gift suspiciously, but he opened it anyway carefully, in case it did go boom.

When Steve finally saw what it was, he froze and just stared at it with huge eyes.

Dean knew what it was, since him and Castiel helped Tony with it. It was a large frame, separated into several smaller frames with different sizes. Each frame held a picture from Steve’s past. One held his mother’s photo, another his father, little Steve with his parents, Steve with his father, young Steve and Bucky grinning from the orphanage, Steve from his first year as Captain America with his old friends, Tony and Steve on their first date, on their wedding, on their first and second anniversaries, several ones with each one of their team, With Dean and Castiel from one of their double dates and finally with their whole team and the Winchesters.

Almost all of Steve’s life in one frame.

Steve trailed his fingers on some pictures, especially the ones of his parents, tears slowly falling from his eyes.

“H-how?” he asked in awed voice as he looked up at Tony with tear filled eyes.

“Well, Dean, Cas, and I went to every place from your past, your old apartment, the orphanage, where your mother worked and so on. And every photo we find, if it was in a bad shape, Cas would restore it with his grace and voila! Here it is.” Tony rambled as he nervously looked at Steve, worried that he might have upset him by bringing back painful memories.

Steve shakily placed the framed on the floor in front of him, before throwing himself at Tony to wrap him in a tight hug and hid his face in his neck.

“Thank you. God, thank you! I needed that. So much.” Steve whispered into Tony’s skin. Tony just smiled and wrapped his arms around him with a kiss to Steve’s temple.

Steve moved back, Dean and Castiel were startled when Steve wrapped his arms around both of them at the same time to crush them in a bear hug.

“Thanks, guys.” he whispered and they smiled while patting his back gently.

“Dude, your mom was hot!” Clint commented while he and the others were looking at the photos. “Now we know where you got your looks from.”

“Clint!” Natasha shouted while hitting him at the back of his head while the others just laughed loudly at his pout.

Steve moved back, so he could stare at the frame while leaning against Tony with a soft smile.

“Alright, guys. Your turn.” Tony said with a grin, handing the Winchesters their own gifts.

The three of them look at each other warily before opening them. Castiel blinked in confusion at the two, metallic wrist bands in the box.

“Uhm…”

Tony rolled his eyes, and scooted over so he was sitting directly in front of Castiel.

He took the wrist bands from the box and attached both of them around the angel’s wrists.

“I got this idea from Assassin’s Creed, and couldn’t help but think it will absolutely suite you.” Tony babbled as he pressed a hidden button on the bands, while Castiel just blinked at him. “I borrowed two angel blades from Dean to make it perfect, now close your fists and imagine you are in a fight.”

Castiel obliged and his eyes widened like everyone’s in the room, when the bands stretched suddenly on his forearms and two blades sprouted out of them.

 “That’s amazing.” Castiel murmured in wonder as he watched the blades attached to his wrists.

“That’s not all! They also will help you use the perfect amount of grace. Not too much and not too little, just the perfect amount needed for the situation. And it will store an amount of grace that will charge you enough if needed when you use too much in a battle. So you won’t black out or pass out ever again from lack of grace.”

Dean and Sam stared at Tony in awe at that. This was perfect!

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Castiel murmured, overwhelmed. “Thank you, Tony.”

Tony just grinned proudly as the others stared at the bands in awe.

“So I am guessing this is not just a watch?” Dean inquired, holding up the box with weird looking watch inside it.

Tony moved over to Dean next and gestured to him to wear it.

Tony pressed a button on it and suddenly the watch morphed into a fingerless, black gauntlet around Dean’s hand with a repulsor in his palm.

“No way.” Dean murmured with wide eyes as he stared at his covered hand. “No freaking way! That’s like your suit!”

“Yup! It will also shoot laser and will electrify anyone who will try to remove it from your hand. Also, if you pressed the other button it will make a protective electromagnetic field around you and whoever close to you.”

“Dude! Seriously?!” Dean gaped at him in awe. “No way!”

“Yes way.” Tony grinned at him proudly.

Sam, meanwhile, got two small hand guns. With special explosive bullets that pretty much could rip anything to pieces. It made him almost close to tears. 

“Tony, God, all of this is awesome! Seriously I have no idea what to say.” Dean beamed at him while Cas and Sam were still staring at him with awe.

“What can I say? I don’t want you guys dead.” Tony just shrugged casually like it was not a big deal.

“Actually, we have another gift for you guys.” Steve announced and shared a grin with Nat and Clint.

“Come on, guys. This too much, you don’t need to-“ Sam started but Steve interrupted.

  “Nonsense. And it is not a Christmas thing, it is more important and concerns your lives.”

That made the Winchesters straighten and look at him seriously.

“As Dean pointed out a few days ago about why no one was asking questions about you guys and the fact that you are supposedly dead criminals and Cas doesn’t even exist. Well, it’s because of this.” Steve handed Dean a stack of official looking papers.

Dean took a fast look at them with Sam and Cas looking over his shoulders. Their eyes widened and looked up at Steve again.

“After talking to Nick Fury, director of SHIELD, about you guys, he agreed to help sorting this out.”

“SHIELD? I thought it was ruined a few years ago.” Sam pointed out in confusion.

“Fury managed to rebuild everything back and they are almost as before. So by their help, we cleaned your criminal records, the fact that everyone that ever arrested you were either dead or claimed that they never saw you helped. Then, we brought you guys back to life officially with clean records. And made a birth certificate for Castiel and a life story. Also a marriage license for you guys.” Natasha explained, gesturing to Cas and Dean with a smile.

The Winchesters just sat there in pure shock, staring at them.

“So, officially, you guys are alive and clean, Cas is a citizen in the Unites States and you guys are legally and officially married.” Clint continued cheekily.

Dean let out a shocked chuckle while shaking his head, Sam raked his fingers through his hair with a laugh while Castiel still looking awed.

“Now, according to SHIELD and the whole world, you guys are Avengers.” Steve finished with a bright smile.

Suddenly, the room was filled with laughter and cheering as the Winchesters were attacked with hugs and smiles.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, my friends!” Thor hollered loudly, crushing all of them in a hug.

Dean barley registered the sounds of cheering, laughing and celebrations. He was distracted by the fact that finally, the Winchesters belonged somewhere. Needed. And loved. He couldn’t help the grin that spread wide on his face as he saw Sam and Cas laugh and smile in true happiness.

But he couldn’t help but feel trouble coming their way. And fast.

       

 

 

  


	4. Chapter 4

It was exactly two weeks after Christmas when trouble finally found its way to them.

Dean and Castiel were sleeping in their room in the Tower, too tired from their last night’s activities. Dean was on top of Cas with the angel’s dick still inside him.

They were supposed to go to the bunker today with the team to spend the week there after spending Christmas and New Year’s Eve in the Tower.

After Tony’s insistence, he arranged a huge party for New Year’s Eve and as expected, it was a living hell for the Winchesters who didn’t handle strangers very well. Or people in general.

The team introduced them, of course, to everyone, but the room was too full of people that Dean completely lost track of the names he was introduced to.

Not to mention the fact that half the people there looked down at them, seeing them unworthy of being Avengers, or flirted outrageously with them. Even after Cas and him stressed the fact that the both of them were married to each other several times but no one cared and saw it as a challenge or something. Some women even suggested that they join them in the bedroom for a night. Another kinkier one wanted to watch them in the same bed as Steve and Tony. That made Dean almost pass out, Tony choking on his drink while Steve and Cas looked absolutely horrified. Dean still feels like passing out of sheer horror every time he remembers her request. No, just no!

So, it wasn’t really a fun night for Dean and Cas. Sam however, people stopped harassing him after they were on the other side of Natasha’s harsh glares. So he had a better night than them.

Tony actually felt guilty about the whole thing, but Dean just brushed it off. No damage were done so they were fine, no need for guilt.

Dean woke up when he felt Castiel harden inside him. He opened his eyes and moved himself up on his elbows to look down at his husband.

He smirked as he started to move his hips, making Castiel stir and open his eyes blearily with a soft moan.

“Morning, Sunshine.” Dean grinned down at him as he moved his hips languidly up and down and around.

Castiel blinked up at him for a second, then Dean suddenly was flipped over, his back pressing to the mattress with a smirking Castiel above him.

“Good morning, Dean.” He murmured, then leaned down to press his lips to Dean’s while slamming his hips into Dean’s.

Dean moaned into the angel’s mouth as he wrapped his legs and arms around him to bring him closer.

They were lost completely in each other, forgetting about everything else. So that’s why they were horribly startled when a loud knocking sounded on their door.

“Rise and shine, guys!” Steve’s overly cheerful voice sounded through the door. “I made breakfast and coffee! Be warned that Nat is the one who made the pancakes so if you don’t like them don’t say anything and just smile and nod! Come on, move your asses out of bed!” with that his footsteps sounded as he walked away.   

Dean threw his head back with a groan. His morning sex was just interrupted by a cheerful Captain America. Seriously?  

“You better not leave me hanging.” He growled at Castiel with a glare.

Castiel just smirked and slammed into him again, making him groan loudly.

***

Everyone were in the kitchen eating breakfast. Natasha’s pancakes were burned and tasteless but they ate it with scared smiles on their faces and shouted overly excited praises at her exquisite cooking.

Steve’s phone ranged and he walked out of the kitchen so he can hear the caller better.

A few minutes later, he came back to the room with a frown on his face.

“What is it?” Tony asked in concern.

“It was Fury. He wants all of us to go to him right now. Saying it was important.”

“So, I am guessing we are not going to the bunker today.” Clint sighed but got up anyway like everyone else.

Except the Winchesters who continued to eat their breakfast with no care in the world.

“Uhm, guys?” Steve called out and they looked up at him curiously. “That means you too.”

They just blinked at him in confusion.

“The director of SHIELD want us there too?” Sam asked perplexed.

“Fury said all the Avengers. And he stressed on the ‘all’ part. In conclusion, it includes you too. Now come on. Move it.”

“Alright, alright. We are getting up.” Dean sighed in surrender, standing up too. Sam and Cas copying him.

  ***

They entered the conference room, which held a long table surrounded by uncomfortable looking chairs. A black man with an eye patch sat at the head of the table, on his right sat another man and on his left a short haired brunette woman. They stood up when they entered the room.

Steve and Clint pushed them forward as the eye patch guy approached them.

“You are the Winchesters, I presume. About time I got to meet you.” He addressed them then held a hand towards them to shake. “Nick Fury, Director of SHIELD. I heard a lot about you for years and you already have my respect. This is Agent Coulson and Agent Hill.” He gestured towards the man and woman who also approached them.

They shook their hands with obvious respect and admiration. Which was so weird and unfamiliar.

 “You are the angel, right?” Coulson asked while shaking Castiel’s hand, with an excited glint in his eyes while his face remained impassive.

Castiel just nodded carefully, still not sure how to react around strangers.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. Always wanted to meet you. Cap here said lots of good things about you and your family. I am a big fan.” Coulson praised with a polite smile and obvious admiration in his eyes.

Castiel smiled gratefully at him and trailed his eyes towards Steve with a raised eyebrow. Steve just shrugged with a smile.

“Now, will you please take your seats so we can talk about why I asked for your presence?” Fury said sounding impatient and unsettled. It seemed that whatever was going on was making him nervous.

They took seats around the large table, Fury and the two agents took their previous seats. Fury nodded at Hill to start talking.

“Does anyone knew an agent named Sydney Hunter?” she asked looking specifically at Nat, Clint and Steve who dealt more with SHIELD.

“Yeah, Nat and I went on a few missions with her before. She is damn good, one of the best. Really smart too. She has a very scientific brain and very loyal to SHIELD.” Clint praised with admiration.

“We have a few concerns about her.”

“Concerns?” Natasha asked in confusion. “Yeah, she might be a little weird but that’s a common in really smart people. Also I heard she was a secret service for the president before joining SHIELD. Whoever worked there had a very thorough background check.”

 “That’s right. But she was dismissed after she was caught collecting confidential Astronomical information.” Coulson said grimly.

“Then how did she join SHIELD?” Steve asked in surprise.

“We are not trying to justify the mistake.” Fury interjected with a deep frown. “She initially joined for her advanced technological knowledge, and helped in upgrading lots of weapons. Besides the fact that there was no presumption about her leaking any confidential information to outside sources. On the contrary, she was always trusted by her bosses.”

“What’s the problem then?” Dean asked in confusion.

Fury shared a glance with the two agents then turned back towards them.

“The problem is that she is not what she claims to be.” He stated firmly.

“What do you mean? You said she-”

“She is not the real Sydney Hunter.” Hill interrupted grimly.

“She is not what?” Tony asked taken aback.

“You heard right. That young woman is not and never was the real Sydney.”

 Silence filled the room for almost thirty seconds, then Steve adjusted in his seat and leaned towards the agents.

“I think we need more clarification.” He stated sternly.

Fury leaned forward and placed his hands on the table in front of him. “You know that now we depend heavily on tech and worldwide network. Which is a mistake since no matter how advanced and protected it was, it still can be hacked one way or another.”

“You mean to say that she did that and created a fake file for herself?” Natasha asked in concentration.

“No, if she did that she would have been discovered immediately from the unusual increase in files.” Hill denied with a shake of her head. “She was smarter than that. She looked through older files and chose one of a woman that lost her life in her childhood, and erased everything related to her death, who of course her name was Sydney, so now officially she was considered alive, then did a few adjustments on her photo and all her previous ones, even replaced her fingerprints, her irises print and even the genetic print, with her own. Then made a history for the deceased woman and gave her scientific certificates and PHDs in Mechanical and electrical engineering, Applied mathematics and computer science.”

“But she already is a genius in all of this. Everyone knows that.” Clint gaped at him.

“That what makes us perplexed. She is a genius, very talented and loyal agent and never did anything that could make us suspect her. Except of course, her obsessive gathering of astronomical information.”

“We only managed to discover her by sheer coincidence. One of the oldest agents actually knew the real Sydney.” Coulson added with a grimace. “We are keeping her in custody right now.”

Everyone was silent again for a while. Then Dean spoke.

“I am sorry, but I have to ask.” He started looking strangely at the agents. “What does the Avengers have to do with this?”

“I was about to ask the same thing.” Tony interjected with a raised eyebrow. “This seems like a SHIELD problem. Not ours. You are dealing with a potential spy and that’s not our problem. We deal with super villains and world threatening situations, not this.”

“There are two reasons why we called you.” Fury stated cautiously.

“Which are?”

Fury nodded towards Hill, who then opened her brief case to pull out three pictures and three really old drawings.

 “This is Agent Sydney Hunter for the ones who don’t know how she looks.” She said pointing to a pristine looking picture of a pretty brunette. “And this one from the year 1916, and this from the 19th century. While these three drawings from the 14th, 9th and 4th centuries. I want you guys to check all of these thoroughly and tell me what the common factor in them is.”

With no previous discussion, they all wordlessly handed the pictures and drawings to Castiel, who certainly will catch what Hill was implying fast enough with his thorough eyes.

Castiel trailed his eyes in deep concentration at the pictures and drawings, it took him almost 10 seconds to catch the common factor that had his eyes widening.

“Her face. It is in all of them.” He announced in a shocked voice that made the others move to gather around him to see what he was saying.

“Oh my god, it is true!” Bruce exclaimed as he saw Sydney’s face in every picture.

“What does this mean?” Steve asked in confused surprise. “That she isn’t human? An alien?”

“Or an angel. Or a demon. She could be anything. It is a long list.” Sam reported as he looked at the pictures with concentration.

“What is the other reason you asked for the Avengers’ presence?” Thor asked turning back to Fury.

Fury’s eyes trailed to look at them with a strange look in his eyes.

“She refuse to speak.” He started slowly.

“So what, you asked us to come to intimidate her or torture her or something?” Dean inquired with a suspicious glare.

“No, that’s not it.”

“Then what is it?”

He hesitated for just a second then looked at them directly.

“She said she will only talk to two specific people.” He paused, making sure he had their complete attention. “She will only talk to Steve Rogers and The angel Castiel.”

     

  

 


	5. Chapter 5

“It’s a trap. There is no other explanation.”

Dean said firmly looking at Steve. They were still in the conference room, but Fury and the two agents left them alone to discuss what they heard.

“What makes you say that?” Steve inquired looking at him with all his attention.

“She is obviously a demon or an angel if she knew about Cas. Not to mention the fact that her face showed up in different centuries.” Dean explained as he twitched nervously, he was nervous since he heard that that woman knew about his angel and asked for him by name.

“Why would an angel or even a demon work for SHIELD for five years?” Natasha asked frowning in confusion. “There must be another explanation.”

“Maybe the pictures are for some women who really looks like her?” Thor suggested.

“It is scientifically impossible for two people to look exactly the same. Even identical twins would have differences in their appearance. Hell, even both sides of our faces don’t look the same.” Bruce said looking over at Thor.

“If she wasn’t human, won’t SHIELD found out about that a long time ago?” Tony asked while furrowing his brows.

“Look guys, we won’t know anything unless we heard what she has to say.” Steve announced, and when he saw them about to object he continued. “Fury obviously, made it an Avengers mission. So, we will do the most obvious thing, Cas and I will meet with her and hear what she wants to say to us. Meanwhile, a team will go search her house for anything that could help us understand who she really is and another team will be watching and listening to our meeting with her in another room in case anything happens. Any objections to what I just said?”

They looked at each other for a few seconds, then looked back at him with concerned frowns but with no objections.

“I still don’t like you guys being with whatever she was in one room on your own.” Dean muttered as he shot a worried glance towards Castiel who was watching everything silently. Tony just looked down and frowned even more.

“We will be fine. No need to worry. We can handle ourselves.” Steve assured him then addressed the rest of the team. “Alright, so Nat, Tony and Dean will go to her house. Look for anything that can help us. While Clint, Thor and Sam will be our back up. Bruce I want you take a sample from her blood from the laps also take the reports of any analysis and tests they did on her and see if you can find anything unusual in it. Tell me what you find before we meet her.”

They all nodded and moved to make their way out of the room, Dean and Tony stayed back.

Dean moved to Castiel and took his hand gently.

“Be careful. Don’t want to hear that she was a human bomb and turned you and Steve into a large stains on the walls.” Dean muttered looking down at their joined hands.

“I love it when you say romantic things like this.” Castiel smirked with a roll of his eyes making Dean snort.

“Sorry.” Dean gave him a small smile. “I am just worried. I feel uneasy since the moment I heard she asked for you.”

“I know. It will be fine.” Castiel cupped Dean’s cheek gently with his free hand and smiled when he leaned into it. “I will be careful. And I won’t be alone. Take care of yourself and try to not murder Tony or Nat. I am sure Steve and Sam will be upset if you did.”

“Have some little faith in me! I could totally spend time with them without bickering!”

Castiel just raised an eyebrow at him and Dean sighed.

“Fine. I will be nice.” He muttered with a scowl.

Castiel smiled and pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead.

His eyes then trailed to land on Steve and Tony. The genius seemed to be also concerned about Steve’s safety and the soldier was doing his best to reassure him. With one final kiss to Tony’s cheek, Steve turned towards him and gave him a small nod.

“Let’s go see what Bruce will find.”

***

“From the tests, she is completely human.”

Bruce announced a few hours later firmly. “But I did find two things.”

“Which are?” Steve asked looking at him intently.

“First interesting thing I found was that she have an implanted tooth.”

“And what is interesting about that?” Tony inquired in confusion. 

“A natural tooth was used not a manufactured one like what we usually do, also the nerves and blood vessels were attached in an impossible way. Unless the Dental surgeon used microscopic machines with high precision.”

“And we don’t have that kind of technology?” Castiel asked carefully.

“That’s right.” Bruce nodded with a furrowed brow. “And we didn’t find any records of a surgery like that in the entire world. Also all our microscopic surgeries dealt with blood vessels but never managed to repair a damaged neuron.”

They all looked at each other, trying to understand what that information could possibly mean.

“What the other thing you found?” Dean looked back up at Bruce.

“When I analyzed her blood, everything was normal. Except for the presence of an unknown substance in there but in small amounts.”

“Unknown substance? Some kind of drug?”

“More like a protective serum. It stimulates the immune system and helps in fast healing wounds, bruises and tumors.” Then Bruce got excited. “I actually managed to study that serum enough that I can make more and inject you guys with it.”

“I gotta say, Bruce. What you just found out made everything more complicated.” Steve sighed tiredly.

“Maybe she is from an alternate universe?” Dean wondered helpfully.

“We can’t be sure of anything until you guys meet up with Nat and search her house.” Steve then turned to Castiel. “And us meeting Agent Hunter.”       

***

Real happiness and relief showed on Sydney Hunter’s face when she entered the interrogation room where Steve and Castiel were waiting for her.

“God, thank you for accepting to meet me.” she said with a smile as she moved to shake their hands. “It is an honor to meet the both of you.”

Castiel’s eyes studied her thoroughly. She was beautiful, in her mid-twenties, with sharp features and strong jawline. She also have a smattering of freckles on her cheeks and nose. What caught Castiel off guard was her eyes. She had vivid green eyes that shone with intelligence and righteousness with a sly glint in them. And they looked very familiar it made Cas confused and disoriented for a few seconds. Even her smile seemed familiar.

Also, she was human. No traces of being any supernatural being. But there was a sliver of something unusual that he didn’t seem to put his finger on it.

“Why did you say you will only speak to us?” Steve got down to business right away after they shook her hand and sat on the other side of the interrogation table.

“You are the only ones I know I can trust. And would actually listen to me.” She just shrugged casually, her face not showing any kind of emotion.

“And why is that?”

She just shrugged again without commenting.

“How did you know about me?” Castiel asked firmly, his intense eyes focused on her.

“I heard about you. You are popular in the hunting world.”

Steve and Castiel shared a silent glance then the soldier pulled out the two pictures and the three drawings then placed them on the table.

“Can you explain this?” he asked in a stern voice.

She leaned forward to check the pictures carefully, then leaned back in her chair.

“Can you?” she countered calmly.

“Listen Sydney, either you cooperate or you will remain imprisoned.”

“With what charge?” she retorted immediately.

“What?”

“I didn’t do anything that deserves punishment for more than a year, that’s of course if you considered the whole thing with the files forgery.”

“It is.” Steve said calmly.

“That’s if you could prove it.” She leaned forward with a charming smile. “Until then, I will insist that I am Sydney Hunter and all my papers are clean, and they have to prove otherwise, right?”

“Your fingerprints will lead them to who you really are.” Steve snapped, obviously not appreciating her cold behavior.

“I will be surprised if that actually happened.” She just shrugged coldly.

“So you are saying that your fingerprints or your genetic code won’t lead us to anything? Tell me, won’t that mean that you don’t really have an actual existence?” Steve smirked with a raised eyebrow.

She looked at him for a few seconds. “Don’t worry, Captain. I am human. And I am not from another world or-“

“Or from another time?” Castiel interrupted sternly.

She flinched and turned towards him with wide, startled eyes.

“How did you-“ she immediately cut herself off, and kept staring at him. Weirdly enough, her gaze turned from surprise to deep admiration.

Steve also turned wide eyes towards Castiel then back at Hunter who just sighed in defeat.

“Yes, I don’t belong to your time.” She admitted, her eyes never leaving Castiel’s face.

Steve just gaped at her for a second then turned to Castiel.

“How did you figure that out? And why are you admitting to it so easily?” he directed the second question to her.

“He will know if I lie, so what’s the point?” she just shrugged in defeat.

Steve gave her a long look then turned to Castiel waiting for an explanation.

“That was the only logical conclusion.” Castiel explained quietly. “Even if it was strange. But everything surrounding Agent Hunter, deducted three explanations; either she is a supernatural being or an alien that have a long life or immortality, or she is from an alternate universe and came here somehow, or she is just a human with the ability to travel through time for her picture to appear in different centuries in history.”

“Why did you exclude the first two?” She asked leaning towards him with real interest.

“I didn’t sense any supernatural presence in you, and the tests confirmed that you have normal human functions, which meant you have a normal life span. That leaves options two and three. But the pictures and the drawings meant that you were around in different eras, also the serum they found in your blood, is like the vaccination serums that are taken by the people who will travel for a long periods of times and to unknown places to protect them from catching diseases. Also you being from another universe doesn’t explain you showing up in different eras.” Castiel then leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. “In short, it only leaves one explanation. That you are a time traveler, settled down temporarily in our time.”

Silence filled the room after Castiel was finished. Then a deeply impressed smile appeared on Sydney’s face.

“Amazing, Castiel. Just amazing.” She shook her head with a little chuckle. “You are incredible. I should have expected that you will find out sooner than anyone else.”

“I still can’t believe what’s happening.” Steve blinked, eyes still wide and bewildered. But he still looked at Castiel with deep admiration.

“So, are you willing to talk now?” Castiel wondered, leaning forward.

She looked at him for a few seconds then sighed deeply.

“Yes. I will tell you everything. From the very beginning.”


	6. Chapter 6

“Oh, wow.”

Dean murmured as he stared with wide eyes at Sydney’s office room in her house.

It was filled with high tech equipment with all kinds. It almost looked like Tony’s workshop. Almost.

“Well, that’s definitely something.” Tony muttered as he too looked around the room.

“She is genius so I didn’t expect any less.” Natasha said while making her way inside the room. “Can you hack into her system to see what we can find?” she directed her question to Tony.

“Duh.” He made his way inside and turned on the computers. A holoscreen appeared in the middle of the room and Tony started to work on it.

A few minutes passed and Tony was still working, however, his brow was furrowed and an annoyed surprise was written on his face.

“What’s wrong?” Dean asked curiously.

“I can’t get pass the defenses as easily as I thought.” He answered grimly. “It’s… strong. And familiar. Almost as if-“ he cut himself off and looked even more unsettled.

“As if what?” Natasha prompted looking at him in confusion.

“As if it was made by me.” he replied in a soft voice like he was talking to himself.

Dean and Nat shared nervous a look then turned their eyes back to Tony.

After another ten minutes, Tony whooped in victory.

“I am in.” he announced smiling smugly.

Natasha walked towards him and studied the information that started to show to them.

“What did you find?” Dean inquired, leaning against the door frame.

“Just different information about the placement of stars, the movement of earth, space projects and so on.” Natasha replied without looking up from the holoscreen.

“That’s it?”

“It’s not just regular information.” Tony said in concentration. “She was studying the movement of stars during the past fifty years.”

“Still not seeing what’s so important about that.”

“We will look through it until we figure out why she was interested in that.”

Dean left them to do their thing and started to search the house for anything that looked unusual or misplaced.

But everything looked normal. Overly normal.

It was a small house, enough for one person. And there weren’t much places to hide anything.

Regardless, Dean searched every inch tirelessly.

Until he stopped in front of an engraving above the fireplace.

The engraving looked exactly the same as its twin on the other side of the fireplace, but it looked slightly more Prominent than the other. He reached out and pressed it carefully. The engraving turned on itself revealing a red button.

“Guys, I think I found something.” Dean called out while still looking at the button curiously.

Tony and Natasha rushed to him and they also stared at the mysterious button.

“What do you think it’d do? And why would she hide it so carefully?” Tony wondered as he studied it.

“Only one way to find out.” Dean just shrugged and pressed the button.

“Dean, be careful!” Natasha exclaimed as she and Tony pulled Dean back in case something blew into his face.

They all froze for a few seconds, waiting for something to happen.

But nothing did.

Everything remained calm and settled. Nothing changed.

“Weird! Why would she hide it then?” Tony murmured in confusion.

“Maybe she had put it there to mislead whoever searches her house.” Dean shrugged again and continued his search through the house.

***

“In my time, there is the third generation of The Avengers.” Sydney started her story looking down at her hands on the table. Steve and Castiel were listening to her with rapt attention.

“Third? How far are you in the future?” Steve asked with wide eyes.

“Far enough. Anyway, most of them are your descendants. They are the Earth’s first line of defense, since the threats in the future are worse than ever.”

“You are an Avenger, aren’t you?” Castiel interjected, looking at her intently. Studying her.

“Yes.”

“Who are your grandparents?”

She looked at him for a long time, trailing her eyes between him and Steve, looking unsure how to answer.

“I can’t tell you.” She said slowly, eyes glued to his face. “I already ricked the past enough by me being here. I can’t ruin it even more. If I did, I might not be born. And you can see that would be tragic.”

Castiel nodded in understanding while Steve gestured for her to continue her story.

“A bomb was sent to Earth from another planet.” She announced grimly. “It was actually the second bomb. The first bomb was sent decades ago and it was stopped before reaching the Earth by the first Avengers; you guys. But that is yet to come. But then, another one was sent. But it was much stronger. If it reached Earth it will wipe out the whole planet. And it was unstoppable. We tried everything to stop it but nothing worked. It was the end. Then, we figured out why those aliens sent those two bombs in the first place. Someone in the past, had sent two universal messages to the entire universe saying that they were the next emperor of the universe and will come to all of them and some other crazy shit. One of the planets that received those messages took the threat seriously and decided to eliminate us before we start to act on that threat. When they received the first message, they sent the first bomb that you guys will stop in the near future, but when they received the second message they sent a second, stronger bomb. The large time between both bombs was because that planet is many light years away and the bombs took their time to reach us. So, I was assigned a mission. To take the first functioning time ship ever made, go through time and find whoever sent those messages and stop them from sending them no matter what.”

“And did you?” Steve asked carefully, absorbed in her story.

“No. I didn’t find him yet.” Her face twisted in pain. “I was the first one to try the time ship. So no one knew what to expect and be prepared for it. The time maps were still unfinished and no time to finish them. I just flew it towards the skies with speed that reached the speed of light, until I find myself in what I called ‘The Nil Zone’ where place and time don’t exist. Just a white nothingness with black holes everywhere. Each hole lead to a different era. With no way of knowing where it will take me. So, for years, I tried a hole after a hole, hoping it will take me to the era that will allow me to complete my mission. Forced to stay three days in each era so my ship could recharge for another trip, which lead me to face horrors and almost die numerous of times.” She stopped as she tried to calm herself from the painful memories. “Until I landed in your time. And decided to settle for a while, to analyze my situation and to try to find a way to finish my mission and… and a way back to my time when I do. I collected every info I could find about space and the stars that could help me, through the years.” She looked at them earnestly then. “I swear I meant no harm in anyway. I just want to save my time.”

Steve and Castiel stared at her, lost. Not sure what to do.

Because Castiel could tell that every word she said, was the truth.

***

“From base to desert patrol 7, an unknown body appeared out of nowhere at area 47. Check it out.” The base commander’s voice came through the comms, in patrol 7 jeep who were doing a patrol around the desert surrounding the base. “Be careful, advance towards it carefully. Any sign of hostile activity, fall back immediately.”

“Roger that.” The Captain of the patrol answered. Already moving the jeep towards the given coordinates.

“Unknown body? What does that supposed to mean?” one of the two privates in the jeep asked in nervous confusion.

“We are about to find out.”

The jeep made its way in the desert, when they got closer to the mentioned area, the other private furrowed his eyebrows nervously. “There is a strong signal almost ruining the radar’s signals, sir.”

“Where is it coming from?” The captain asked in worry.

“From the unknown body’s site, sir.”

The captain furrowed his eyebrows as he watched the radar’s screen which kept vibrating violently then vanished completely.

“What happened?”

“The signal increased and took over the radar’s signals!”

“Not just the radar! There is disturbance from the engine too!” the first private exclaimed as the car started to shake violently until an exploding sound from the engine happened and the car stopped completely.

For a few seconds, no one from the three men said anything as they looked at each other with pale faces.

“From patrol 7 to base, do you copy?” the captain called out through the comms. But no one answered. He called out again and again but got nothing still. “The comms are also down.”

“Is all of this because of that unknown thing?” one of the privates asked in a shaking voice.

“It is just a coincidence.” The captain answered in frustration.

“A coincidence?!”

“Yes! All just a-“

“Here it is!” the private exclaimed pointing at the northern east. “It is visible from here.”

The other two followed his line of sight, only for their eyes to widen as they stared at a circular spaceship with small wings at its sides and a short tail at its back.  And it was floating in the air about a meter above the sand.

 “Oh god! It’s a UFO! A spaceship!” the Captain exclaimed as he stared.

“Is it… is it another invasion?” stammered one of the other two men.

“We need to tell the base! We need to tell them now!”

“How? Are we going to jog through the desert?!”

“Yes! We must tell them! Even if it come to that.” He then jumped from the car and already started to jog, but stopped by the other private’s shout.

“Sir! Look over there!”

The captain turned back to see where the man was pointing. He saw a golden sphere, the size of a basketball, separating from the ship’s body, and was flying towards them at a horrific speed.

The captain retreated while pulling out his gun and shouted “Defend yourselves! They are attacking us!”

The two men raised their guns too.

But the sphere shot first.

Three explosions sounded in the middle of the desert. Then complete calm followed it.

Without any sound, the sphere turned around to return back to the ship.

And the countdown inside the ship continued.

 

 

        

 


	7. Chapter 7

Tony raked his fingers through his hair in frustration.

“I have no idea why would she would gather all these information.” He groaned, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. “For all the past hours, I was trying to see what the purpose of all of that was and I didn’t get it. And I hate not getting anything!”

“Why don’t you take a break? You have been working nonstop for hours.” Dean suggested, trying to calm him down.

“No, I need to-“

“What is that?” Natasha interjected suddenly as she got to her feet and stared at something with concern. “Look!”

They both turned towards what she was pointing at. They froze as they saw the engraving glow red and fade again in a steady beat.

“What the hell?” Dean muttered while still staring at it.

“You shouldn’t have pressed that button until we study it.” Natasha sighed looking nervous.

“What do you think that glowing and fading means?” he asked turning towards Tony.

“I am not sure. I need to study it more to figure out.” Tony shrugged, eyes never leaving the glowing engraving.

***

“When I started my journey through time, it was very confusing, since my ship couldn’t tell what era I landed in.” Sydney continued her story. “So at the early eras I had to rely on the stars. If the stars were wider apart than the last era I was in, it means I am currently in a future era, and if they were closer, then I went further back in time.”

“So, that’s why you gather so much information about space and the stars?” Castiel asked curiously.

“Mostly yes. And to find a way to know when each black hole will take me, but no luck so far.”

They were silent for a few heavy minutes. Castiel and Steve were trying to figure out what to say.

“Why did you say you will only talk to us?” Steve asked the question he was dying to ask from the start. “Why did you tell us your story and not anyone else?”

“I told you. You are the only ones I know I can trust.”

“Why?”

She didn’t answer for a few minutes. Steve was almost sure she won’t answer at all.

“In my time, you two are the ones who gave me this mission.” She announced eyes trained on them.

Steve and Cas froze as they stared at her with wide, shocked eyes.

“That’s impossible.” Castiel breathed, still looking to be in a shock. “You said you are the third generation of the Avengers!”

“Yes, but I didn’t say the first generation was gone.” She shrugged like what she was saying wasn’t a big deal.

“How are we alive for this long? I find that hard to believe.” Steve shook his head as he tried to wrap his head around what he was hearing.

“Well, you are. No need to know how. All you need to know is that I was assigned to this mission by the both of you to save our time.”

“I think you have said enough.” Fury announced as he entered the room suddenly, directing his words to Sydney with a stern look in his eyes. He was followed by Hill and Coulson and a few other agents. Outside the room, Thor, Sam and Nat were standing while glaring hard at the back of Fury’s head.

“Were you listening to us this whole time?” Steve accused as he stood up with Cas.

“Of course I did.” Fury just shrugged. “That’s a normal thing for every interrogation. So no one would claim that what they said was from torture or violence.” Then he waved his hand and the agents approached towards Sydney who stepped back nervously. “That doesn’t matter now. Take her.”

“What are you doing?” Steve demanded as he and Cas stepped between Sydney and the agents. “Why are you taking her in?”

“She is danger to our future.” Hill said firmly. “You heard her yourself, she had ricked enough things and the more she talk the more she ruin our future. We can’t allow that to happen, so she will be kept in a cell away from everyone.”

“What you should do is to find a way for her to complete her mission and go back to her own time.” Castiel said firmly with a sharp glare.

“It’s not our problem to deal with. We have our own set of problems. We will not focus on a crises that doesn’t concern us currently.”

“I won’t let you do this.” Steve snapped angrily.

“Sorry, Captain. But it is not up to you.” Fury gestured to the agents and they moved around Cas and Steve to surround Sydney.

“You made this an Avengers’ business. So, you can’t-“

“I didn’t make it your business. I just needed her to say whatever secrets she was hiding and she only wanted to talk to you. So it is more a favor really.” He waved his hand towards the agents and they pushed Sydney out of the room. “The order is already made. And any interference from you or your team, will be considered treason.”

“Fury, you are not giving me any other choice but-“

“No, Cap. Don’t.” Sydney stopped him, and gave him a sad smile. “It’s okay. Really. I was expecting it.”

Steve froze as he watched the agents push her out of the room harshly. He shared a look with Cas and saw the same helpless look in his own eyes reflected back to him.

***

Three military helicopters flew over area 47. Their captain took a calculating look around the area from air.

“From air patrol to base, we have eyes on the unknown body.” The captain reported through the comms. “It looks like a UFO with two short wings and a small tail. It is floating in air at height between a one to three meters. At three hundred meters from it, is patrol 7’s jeep. There is no sign of life inside it.”

“Where are the patrol’s men then? They didn’t vanish in thin air!” came the commander’s voice, sounding frustrated.

The three helicopters flew around the area two times.

“Oh, god! We found our men! But-“ he cut himself off at the horror he was seeing and could felt a lump form in his throat.

“But what?! Captain, tell me what’s going on!” the commander shouted anxiously.

“They are just a scattered body parts! At a very wide range that we didn’t see it at first until we noticed a huge blood stain and-“ he couldn’t finish the sentence as he felt like throwing up. “What a horror!”

Silence filled the comms for a few minutes, like the pilot had transferred his horror to everyone at the base.

“And what about the unknown ship?” The commander asked nervously.

“It is unmoving, sir. But we are getting fixed signals from it.”

“Did you try to analyze that signal? It might be a message!”

“It said that it didn’t mean anything, sir. Just fixed signals. But we will try to get a closer look at the ship. We might find something.”

“Be careful, Eagle 1! We still don’t know what did that to patrol 7.”

“No need to worry, sir.” Then he switched the comms to the ones connecting him to the other two pilots. “From Eagle 1 to Eagle 3, go down to twenty meters in air, and round that unknown ship to get a close look.”

“From Eagle 3 to Eagle 1, Roger that.” He got his answer while the third helicopter was already descending. When the helicopter got closer to the ship, the pilot spoke again. “There isn’t any significant change. I just receive those signals much clearer now and-“

Suddenly, another signal interjected through the comms, ruining the connection.

“From Eagle 1 to Eagle 2, what’s going on?”

“From……. The engine sto…… contro…..” then the helicopter fell from twenty meters in the air, at ten meters distance from the unknown ship. The other two pilots could swear that the falling helicopter took an invisible kick that threw it another ten meters back to hit the sand violently.

Then it exploded.

“Goddammit! It attacked Eagle 3! Attacked and destroyed him!” Eagle 1 shouted in anger as he switched to the base comms.

“Fall back! Do not engage!” the commander exclaimed.

But the rage that ran throw Eagle 1 made him dart towards the unknown ship and fired his missiles at it.

“Too late, Sir! Too late.” The first missile shot from the helicopter towards the ship. “Go to hell you-“

He was cut off by the explosion of the missile.

But the explosion was ten meters away from the ship.

“Crap! It is surrounded by a protective shield! Our missiles exploded over it!”

“From base to Eagle 1, retreat! Do not engage! Come back to base immediately!” The commander shouted.

Then the golden sphere separated from the ship’s body, and darted towards the two helicopters at a horrific speed.

“We are being attacked, sir! A golden sphere-“ before he finished his sentence, loud ringing started in his ears that made him scream in pain and covered his ears in agony.

Then the explosion sounded.

Eagle 2’s body trembled at the scene in front of him as he watched his captain’s helicopter fall to the sand to explode, then saw the sphere dart towards him.

He shot at it with all his weapons with perfect aim, but the sphere didn’t stop.

It kept speeding towards the last helicopter, whose pilot tried to stir away and escape, but then the ringing sounded in his ears and he screamed in agony.

Another explosion sounded.

The remains of the three helicopters scattered at a wide range.

Quietly, the sphere returned back to the ship’s body.

     

 

        

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

Natasha checked the results again and again then shook her head.

“It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just fixed signals.” She said looking up at her two companions.

“If it is continues, then it must mean something.” Dean announced firmly. “Or she won’t have hidden that button so carefully.”

“Did you find anything?” she asked, turning to Tony.

“I did.” He answered curtly, he messed for a few more seconds with a holoscreen, before he continued. “I found a weird result actually. Even though, Dean pressed the button and turned on these signals, everything I found indicates is that we are receiving it not sending it.”

“What do you mean?” Dean asked in surprise.

“What I mean is what we are getting here is a received continues signals. And not sent.” Then he pointed at the glowing and fading red button, and added. “When you pressed the button, you triggered something, somewhere, and that something is revealing its presence by sending fixed, continues signals.”

“Can you locate where this signal is coming from?” Nat asked curiously.

“Already on it.” A map of the world appeared on the screen, then it zoomed in until only North America on the screen. Then it zoomed again at somewhere in the desert close to New Mexico. “Here.”

“Great. Let’s go back and tell Steve what we found.”

Dean’s eyebrows furrowed suddenly as he stared at the screen with interest.

“What is it?” Nat asked in confusion.

“This signal.” He answered distractedly.

“What about it?”

“I think it is a countdown.”

“A countdown?” They both looked at him with wide eyes.   

“Yes, Dean is right. Look. That thing in the desert. Is sending a countdown that will reach zero, in three hours and seven minutes.” Tony confirmed checking on his findings again nervously.

“Then what will happen?” Natasha inquired with a worried frown.

Tony shrugged with no answer.

“I think I know how to find an answer.” Dean said firmly.

“How?”

“By asking the one who hid the button in the first place.”

***

“Sorry, Stark. Visits are no longer available for Agent Hunter.”

Fury said firmly as he faced Tony, Dean and Natasha in his office back at SHIELD.

“What does that supposed to mean?” Tony growled in anger.

“What you heard. I made orders, thirty minutes ago, to prevent anyone and anything to contact Hunter in any way.”

“I am still asking: what does that supposed to mean, Fury?! Last thing I got was that Steve and Cas were interrogating Sydney, what happened that lead to prevent any contact with her?”

“This is no longer your business, Stark! It’s orders. And it is unnegotiable.” Fury barked angrily.

“You don’t even know why we came here for!” Dean snapped back. “Maybe we have something important.”

“You can tell me.” Fury shrugged, setting back on his chair.

Tony and Dean shared a look.

“What if we insist to speak to Sydney personally?” Tony said stubbornly.

“Then I can just arrest you for treason and for ignoring direct orders. And if I can’t arrest you because you are rich, I can arrest your equally stubborn partner here.” he said harshly, gesturing to Dean.

“You can’t-“

Tony was stopped by Nat placing a hand on his shoulder. He turned to her and she shook her head in warning. He took a deep breath trying to calm down.

“Fine.” Dean snapped in frustration. “When we were at Sydney’s house we found a button hidden behind an engraving on the wall and I pressed it in attempt to know what it does then-“

“You pressed it without knowing beforehand what it might do?!” Fury exclaimed in disapproval.

“It is not time for scolding.” Nat interjected. “The button then started to glow and fade, and we don’t know-“

“You pressed a hidden button! Without knowing what it will do? How reckless! No wonder you and Stark get along!” Fury interrupted in anger. “What if it was a bomb that would have evaporated the house?!”

“That didn’t happen anyway.” Dean glared in frustration.

“What if what it did was worse?! I will personally-“

“Enough! My ears gets bored fast from empty threats.” Tony interrupted sharply. “Do whatever suits you, but spare us your stupid lecture.”

Then he turned, grabbed Dean and Natasha’s arms and pulled them out of the room, leaving a fuming Fury behind.

***

Fury stormed out of his office, trying to control his rising temper. He took the elevator to a restricted floor, then walked throw a corridor that lead to a door with two agents on guard.

“Did she eat her food?” He asked one of the agent.

“Everything is going well, sir.” The agent nodded in respect.

“Open the door.”

One of the agents rushed to unlock the complicated electronic lock on the door. The door opened, revealing an elegant suite, where they were keeping Sydney, who turned to Fury calmly with a smirk.

“Well, hello there, Fury. Did you come to pat your new pet?” she greeted snidely.

Fury was silent until the door closed behind him.

“Pets are not given fancy suites like this.” he said firmly.

“You mean when you put a bird in a golden cage it will make him forget he was a prisoner? Even when he will not enjoy the same freedom other birds are having?” she countered waving her hand around the suite, the sarcastic smirk on her face made him reel for a second. It looked familiar. Too familiar.

“We are not here to discuss philosophy. You know why we are keeping you here.” he sighed while taking a seat on a nearby chair.

“Oh, right! Because I am danger to your precious future which is already in danger anyway!” she rolled her eyes with a snort.

Fury furrowed his eyebrows at the familiarity of her sarcastic manner, which made him review his interaction with Stark and Winchester earlier and got even more frustrated.

“What’s that button you were hiding behind an engraving on your wall?” he cut right into the chase.

He obviously hit the right spot, because every ounce of sarcasm and sass on Sydney’s face vanished and was replaced by panic.

“The button? You found it?!” she exclaimed in panic.

“Yes. Stark, Winchester and Romanov found it and Winchester pressed it then-“

“He pressed it?!” she yelled while jumping to her feet in panic. “Oh, God! When did that happen? When?!”

Fury wasn’t expecting such reaction, so he was thrown off guard.

“Almost thirty minutes-“

“Shit! That gives me three hours at most!”

“Three hours? What the-“

Sydney interrupted him again by grapping him harshly by his jacket, removing him from his chair with shocking strength.

“I must get out of here. Now!” she thundered in a strong voice that made Fury shiver unintentionally.

“It’s impossible. You know it is impossible!”

She twisted Fury’s arm behind his back as she turned him around like a rag doll, ignoring his pained shout as she wrapped her arm around his neck, choking him.

“I need to get out of here. No matter what!”

Fury was frozen in shock from her unusual strength. He wasn’t weak in the slightest but he was helpless against her brutal strength.

Just then, the door was thrown open by the two agents who held their guns towards Sydney.

“Let go of Director Fury or we will shoot.” One of them ordered, pointing his gun at her.

“I will break his neck if one of you took a step! Get out of the way!” she barked sharply, tightening her hold on Fury’s neck.

The two agents shared a nervous look.

“Our orders are to not let you out of the room. No matter what.”

“You won’t risk shooting me. You need me alive.” Sydney yelled while pushing Fury in front of her.

“That’s where you are wrong.” Fury choked out painfully.

“Do you wanna bet on that with your life?”

“We will try to keep you alive if we could. But we will try harder to keep our future, which is threatened by you getting out of here. Which meant if we failed in keeping you here, it will only leave us with one choice. Killing you.”

She furrowed her brows even further as she said in even more frustration: “You don’t understand anything! I will get out of here sooner or later. I am just trying to protect you from what will happen in those three hours you idiots!”

“You are not fooling anyone.”

“It is not a trick! It is not a trick you son of a bitch!” she screamed in anger.

Fury was gasping for air now while Sydney was shouting: “Get out of the way! Get out or-“ Then she saw four more agents rushing towards the suite. “If anyone got closer, I will-“

The men moved suddenly, one shot Fury in the chest by a small dart who gasped then went completely lax in her arms.

Then a second agent shot her.

She let out a frustrated scream while pulling out the tranquilizer dart from her neck.

“No! Don’t do this! Don’t!” she shouted, then her vision started to darken dangerously. “I am trying to protect you, idi-“

She didn’t finish her sentence.

She fell to the floor unconscious, leaving her ship to continue its countdown.

 

 

  

 

     


	9. Chapter 9

“I should have tried harder to get her out.”

Steve repeated for the hundredth time while he was eating his lunch back at the tower with Tony, Dean and Cas. The others are around the tower doing their business. After he and Cas told everyone about Sydney, a heavy cloud was in the tower now as they all wished to do something but were not allowed and had no idea how to help anyway.

“There is nothing we can do now, Honey.” Tony murmured gently, trying to ease him, he moved to stand behind him and rested his hands on his tense shoulders then started to massage the muscles gently. Steve leaned back into his touch with a sigh. “Fury seems to insist we don’t get involved. I think we should just forget about the whole thing.”

“But she seems… familiar somehow.” Castiel muttered from the other side of the table, looking deep in thought. Dean stopped eating his sandwich and looked at Castiel with a confused frown.

“Who are you talking about?” Dean asked in confusion.

“Sydney… I saw something in her. It was familiar. Not sure what, but I saw it.” Castiel looked earnestly at Dean.

Dean just looked at him carefully for a few seconds then just shook his head.

“It doesn’t matter anyway.” Dean muttered with a sad twist to his lips. He wrapped an arm around Cas bringing him closer. “We might never see her again. So like Tony said, let’s just ignore the whole thing.”

Cas sighed and rested his head on Dean’s shoulder. Steve looked down sadly at his food while Tony wrapped his arms around his neck from behind and rested his chin on top of Steve’s head.

Steve had to admit that he also saw something familiar in Sydney.

But like Dean said, they might never see her again anyway.

***

 “From Hawk Fleet to base, the Unknown ship is right below us, and we are flying at a high height like ordered.”

The Captain of the fleet called through the comms to the Air Force base where Rhodey was.

“From base to Hawk 1, keep your height and don’t get any closer. The ground forces and the tanks are on their way. The attack will be from all fronts at the same time, when I say the word.”

“Roger that.”

Rhodey ended the call and turned towards the other two military men in the room.

“It’s our last try, gentlemen.”  He started sternly. “We tried to contact that ship in every way we know how. But it is ignoring our signals completely and keeps sending that fixed signals like it was waiting to do something.”

“We can’t wait until it does whatever it is.” The army colonel shook his head firmly. “It is enough that it showed hostile behavior towards our men before. Let’s give it what it gave us.”

“That if we actually managed to do it.” The other colonel muttered.

“What that supposed to mean?” the first turned towards him sharply.

“The reports showed that that ship has unusual defense system that incapacitate our usual ways. And we know it managed to destroy three armed helicopters and their missiles didn’t even manage to scratch it. Isn’t that right?”

“This time will be different.” The first said sharply, then moved towards a large map on the wall continuing: “Our plan is to distract it and attack it from three different fronts. The seven fighter jets will fire the missiles, and when it starts to defend, the tanks will attack with their grenades, meanwhile, the ground forces will get closer and try to preach it and control it from the inside.” Then he waved his arm as he turned back towards them. “Then we will check it and identify it.”

“I hope it will be as easy as you make it sound.” Rhodey shook his head with a sigh.

“It will be.”

“The ground forces and the tanks are in position, sir.” Came the captain’s voice from the comms.

“Perfect. Everything is going according to plan. Let’s begin our attack, gentlemen.”

Rhodey exchanged a worried look with the other men, before nodding in determination.

Rhodey took a deep breath before calling through the comms. “Begin the attack.”

The moment the words left his mouth, the attack started.

The seven jets lowered at the same time as their captain called out : “Keep your distance and fire your missiles. Five seconds between each missile. Three…Two…One…Zero.”

And the firing begin.

Seven missiles were fired at the ship.

Seven explosions sounded through the desert.

And the jets raised up again to prepare for another attack, leaving the Unknown ship down below in the middle of a heavy cloud of smoke and sand that covered completely from view.

“This time we will fire at the same time. And after their explosion, the tanks will start their attack. Three… two… on-“

Before he got to finish his sentence, the golden sphere emerged from the smoke and sand, and darted towards the fleet at a horrifying speed.

Eagle 1 was about to shout something, anything.

But he never got the chance.

His jet machines broke down suddenly, accompanying a loud ringing that preached his ears and made him let out a pained scream.

At the end of the scream, the jet exploded violently.

Then the second jet exploded.

And the third.

And the fourth.

The remaining three pilots didn’t know how and when the sphere managed to do that, but they turned around anyway in attempt to escape it, at the same moment the tanks starts their attack.

Hundreds of grenades were fired at the ship and exploded in a storm of sand and smoke.

The sphere turned around and darted towards the tanks.

Then the three jets came back to attack again.

At the same time, the ground forces lunged at the ship and fired at it generously while another group moved around it, waiting for the right moment to sneak into it and try to breakthrough-

But then, something unexpected happened.

The golden sphere stopped midair, for a second or two then it started to shake violently, then separated from it two identical spheres.

Everyone’s eyes widened as they stared at the scene. The three spheres glowed bright golden light that blinded everyone, like they had turned into three small suns.

Then they attacked. Each sphere darted towards a front.

One of them charged towards the tanks that started to explode one after the other. While their captain screamed through the comms:

“God, it is attacking us viciously! It changed into three identical spheres! We can’t defend ourselves, we will try to retreat! It’s-“

A violent explosion sounded through the comms, and the captain’s voice was cut off, which made everyone’s faces pale back at the base.

“Oh, God. I can’t believe this is happening.” One of them murmured in shock.

“Don’t jump into conclusions! Maybe the comms are down or-“

Before the first colonel finished his sentence, a voice sounded through the comms.

“From Eagle 6 to base, it is a disaster! I am the only survivor! Those golden spheres crushed everyone with no mercy! There are two down there and they are hunting down the poor army men and destroy them ruthlessly. The third one is chasing me down tirelessly and I am trying to escape fruitlessly! Dammit! It is not working! It is over!”

“Eject yourself from the jet Eagle 6!” Rhodey shouted. “Leave the jet! Do you hear me? Eject yourself immediately!”

But only the pained scream of the pilot sounded making everyone flinch, before the connection was cut off completely.

In the battlefield, the three spheres moved back towards the ship after crushing the last soldier, then they merged back into one sphere and took its place back on the ship.

Back at the base, silence filled the room, as they just exchanged silent looks for a while.

“Looks like we only have one choice now. We are clearly unable to deal with this.” Rhodey started bitterly.

“What do you suggest?” they asked him grimly.

“We have to call them.” Rhodey announced as his heart clinched in fear and worry. “We have to call the Avengers.”


	10. Chapter 10

Steve frowned deeply as he stared at Rhodey and Fury who were seated on the other side of the table in the meeting room they had in the tower. The whole Team was around him.

Fury showed up with Rhodey an hour ago in the tower, looking anxious and insisting to talk to the whole team, saying it was urgent.

Which turned out to be very urgent.

The room was silent after Rhodey finished telling what happened anxiously and tiredly. He never saw Rhodey so distressed before. Not that he blamed him.

“Oh God.” Steve murmured breaking the silence. “It must be the time ship Sydney used to come to our time.”

“There is no need for hasty assumptions.” Fury retorted in frustration. “Just for-“

“For what, Fury?” Tony interjected angrily. “It is more obvious than it should. We found a hidden button in Sydney’s house. And from the moment it was pressed it started to receive fixed signals which turned out to be a countdown, from the area Rhodey just told us about. And that’s before we knew that the army is facing an unknown ship, in the same area, and sending the same fixed signals, and can protect itself from any sort of attack no matter how strong it was. It is too easy and there is no point in denying it.”

Steve noticed that Dean’s face was getting paler and paler in each passing second. Probably blaming himself for everything. He saw Castiel and Sam also noticed Dean’s distress and were looking at him in concern.

Fury was about to yell something at Tony but was cut off by Rhodey.

“So the signals turned out to be a countdown?” he asked curiously, ignoring Fury’s frustration.

“Yes.” Natasha answered. “A countdown that will end in two hours and forty four minutes from now.”

“And what will happen then?”

“Well, the logical explanation is that it will leave our time.” Sam commented shrugging. “But from the pure panic Sydney received the news with, and made her viciously violent, then her insistence that she was trying to save us, suggest that there might be something else will happen when the countdown reach zero.”

“Like what?” Fury asked nervously.

“An explosion.” Thor announced loudly, making everyone turn to him with wide eyes.

“What?!” Clint exclaimed in slight panic.

“An explosion.” Thor repeated firmly. “It is just a probability. That the red button is just a way to rid of the time vessel or vengeance from an era that wronged her profoundly. It might be a small explosion that will rid only of the vessel so it won’t fall in the wrong hands, or a massive explosion that will annihilate an entire city. Or an entire time.”

The room went silent after Thor finished as they looked at each other nervously.

“God, you just made the whole thing really dark.” Bruce murmured anxiously.

“Just putting a probability to consider and take cautions to.”

“What do you suggest we do?” Castiel asked Steve intently.

“To ask Sydney herself.” Steve answered looking over at Fury sternly.

“What you are asking is not available currently, Captain.” Fury sighed tiredly.

“Fury, now is not the time for-“

“Hunter is currently under the influence of a very strong drug. Nothing can wake her in any way until another hour and half.”

“The agents shot you with the same thing and you are standing right in front of me now!”

“It is not from the darts.” Fury was getting more and more agitated by the second. “We injected her with it to calm her violent behavior.”

“You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Tony yelled in frustration.

“We have no idea what could happen in an hour and a half.” Sam sighed nervously.

“Is there any way to wake her?” Bruce asked in worry.

“Unfortunately, no. We used a new, strong drug. There is no antidote for it yet.”

“Fine, we will see what we can do until she wakes up.” Tony sighed in frustration.

“I really didn’t want to involve you, guys.” Rhodey said guiltily and sadly. “It is too dangerous. But I had no other choice.”

“It’s okay, buddy.” Tony said smiling and walked over to him to place a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it. “We got your back.”

“Thank, Tones.” He smiled gratefully at Tony but his eyes were filled with worry.

He obviously thinks that something bad will happen to his friends and he will never forgive himself for it.

***

Dean went straight to his and Cas’ suite after Fury and Rhodey left.

He couldn’t face the others. He knew that no one blames him. But he was blaming himself for every soul that ship took because of his stupidity. God, why did he pressed that damn button?!

He was setting hunched over on the bed, his hands covering his face, when he heard the door open and closed.

He knew who it was without looking up. He immediately felt Castiel’s reassuring presence inside him from their bond even before the angel touched him.

He felt Castiel walk towards him quietly, then sank to his knees in front of Dean’s hunched form.

The angel took Dean’s hands gently and removed them from his face. Then he cupped Dean’s face gently and wiped his tears from his cheeks, smiling warmly at him.

“It wasn’t your fault, Dean.” He whispered gently, eyes never looking away from Dean’s.

Dean got lost in Castiel’s beautiful, warm eyes. He was sure he will never get tired from having those eyes looking at him that way. He lives for those gazes.

“How can you say that?” Dean murmured quietly while trying to look away from Cas’ warm gaze but the angel was having none of it.

“It is not your fault.” He repeated more firmly. “No one is blaming you. So you should stop blaming yourself. We both know that if you weren’t the one who pressed it, it would have been Tony or Natasha. We are all to blame. We all will carry it. Don’t try to carry it on your own. I mean it.”

“But I-“

“Shut up. I mean it.”

“Cas, I am-“

The words stopped on his tongue by Castiel raising his eyebrow in warning, so he just sighed.

“Fine. I will try.” He muttered in defeat.

Castiel smiled gently at him then leaned forward to press a sweet kiss to Dean’s lips that left the hunter feel warm all over.

They heard a muted thud coming from the closed door. They pulled away to look over at it in confusion and then heard someone swearing from outside the door then a hushed ‘Seriously, Steve? How the hell am I going to reach my wallet for a dollar right now?!’

Dean chuckled while Castiel smirked at the door. He waved his hand and the door opened suddenly, revealing the team who were pressed against the door. Tony and Clint tumbled towards the floor with a yelp, Thor landing on top the both of them, while Sam, Steve, Nat and Bruce stood there staring at them with wide eyes and sheepish awkward smiles.

“Holy fucking shit! Why are you so goddamn heavy?!” Tony yelled from under Thor while Clint let out choked out sounds. Steve moved to pull out the swear jar. “Steve! Remove that truck from over me then pull out your damned jar!”

Dean and Cas burst out laughing as they watched Steve and Sam trying to remove Thor from the floor, who looked content to stay there on top of Tony and Clint, completely ignoring their yelling and swearing.

***

“You can exclude the second probability, Steve.”

Castiel announced firmly when they went back to the meeting room to discuss what they should do.

“You really think so?” Steve asked, giving him his full attention.

“Yes. While we were talking to her I studied her with deep attention, and I heard every word she said and the way she said them while she was telling us her story. I am pretty sure that that young woman would never cause such a massacre, no matter what.”

 “Well, thank God for that.” Steve sighed in relief as he relaxed back in his chair.

“So now it is either the ship will explode or it will leave our time.” Dean concluded carefully.

“And that will happen in two hours and thirteen minutes from now.” Natasha added helpfully. “What are we going to do till then?”

“Well, Sydney will not wake up for another hour. Which mean we need to try to do anything until then.” Steve said with a frown.

“The army had stopped any hostile attack towards it.” Sam reported. “They just laid a siege around it with three hundred meters radius.”

“Isn’t it strange that the ship didn’t initiate any hostile attack either?” Steve wondered with interest. “And the golden sphere didn’t chase after the men who came back to collect the bodies.”

“Maybe because they didn’t attack it.” Dean suggested with a shrug.

“Exactly!” Tony exclaimed excitedly while adjusting in his seat. “That’s what everyone didn’t notice! That ship had meant no harm!”

“Meant no harm?!” Thor boomed with confusion. “After all the destruction it caused?!”

“It is just a machine, Thor. That’s the problem with machines. They just follow what orders they had without thinking.”

“And that’s why I loath them.” Thor muttered grimly.

“That ship is preparing to do something when the countdown is finished.” Tony continued, probably not hearing Thor comment. “Until then, its system held a protection program that protect it from any attack no matter what it is until the ship finishes its purpose. And the army initiated every attack or made a hostile movement. That ship was only protecting itself.”

“It crushed more than a hundred people, Tony.” Clint commented sharply.

“But it didn’t touch who came towards it in peace!”

Steve looked carefully at his over excited husband.

“Tony, what are you thinking exactly?” Steve asked, almost afraid of the answer.

“Every info we have about that ship is limited to the sightings of those who stayed alive and from who received the victims’ calls before dying. But what we really need is to see for ourselves!”

“You don’t mean-“

“Yes! We need to head over to where that ship is.” Tony finished looking at Steve with determination.

Steve just looked at him silently for a few seconds.

“Actually that was what I was thinking exactly.” Dean announced, earning a grin from Tony for supporting him. “There isn’t anything we can possibly do from here anyway. We need to get inside that ship and see what we will find.”

“I was afraid you were going to say that.” Castiel sighed while he rubbed his face with his hands nervously.

Steve just studied them carefully, before also sighing in defeat.

“Not all of us, of course.” He finally announced looking up at all of them.

“What that supposed to mean?” Sam asked carefully.

“We still need what Sydney will say when she wakes up.” He explained. “Maybe she will guide us to what we are supposed to do or the purpose of the countdown. So, Sam, Nat and Clint will stay behind.”

“What?!” Clint exclaimed sharply.

“Steve, what-“ Natasha started but Steve interjected.

“It is purely a practical decision, guys. Nat is a great hacker and will be able to hack to whatever Sydney will tell you about. Also you and Clint are good at interrogating and I am sure with Sam’s help you will be able to convince her to help us out. Meanwhile, Bruce will help in trying to remove the protective shield surrounding the ship to help Dean and Tony enter it, while I, Cas and Thor will be at the ready in case that ship decided to attack.” Steve turned towards Dean then. “You don’t mind going there with Tony, do you?”

“Do you really need to ask?” Dean smirked at him, making Castiel sigh again in frustration.

“You will probably need to leave your weapons behind.” Tony remarked with his own smirk.

“What? Why?!”

“If the ship sensed any type of weapon it will crush us. I will not be wearing my armor.”

“This just keeps getting better and better.” Steve muttered tiredly.

“Just before you guys go.” Bruce started, opening a brief case in front of him, it was filled with syringes. “I managed to make the protective serum that was found in Sydney’s blood. It is pretty powerful and I think it will help you guys, who doesn’t have healing abilities, a lot. So, line up. You are about to get injected.”

***

Sydney’s eyelids trembled for a second while she was laying in her suite. The agents following her progress from another room saw the movement from the screens.

“She is dreaming now.” one of them commented to his colleague.

“I wonder what she is dreaming about.” The other commented with interest.

“Why?”

“She saw a lot of things and from another time. Her dreams must be something else. I’d die to see that.”

They were talking without knowing that Sydney’s dream was more like a storm of memories.

_“Remember Sydney, your mission will be dangerous. You might not come back from it, but you are our only hope. We are counting on you.”_

_A voice echoed in her dream._

_She saw a huge base._

_A countdown._

_Large maps that covered every wall._

_Air paths maps._

_And space maps._

_And… time maps._

_“You will face things that no human had faced before.”_

_Another voice echoed. God, how honest his sentence was._

_Like he knew what will happen._

_Then the countdown started._

_Her mind went back to her life history._

_To her family._

_Then the ship launched._

_And her mission started._

_At that point, the memories started to merge._

_A large emptiness._

_Black holes._

_A typhoon of colors and sounds._

_An era after era._

_Fight after fight._

_And the mission was never accomplished._

_There was a huge explosion then-_

Her body shook violently and she opened her eyes wide and stared at the ceiling of the room.

In the observation room the agents were startled.

“Oh God! She regained her consciousness fast!” the first agent exclaimed. “She wasn’t supposed to wake up until another thirty minutes!”

Sydney sat up sharply, removing all the wires they attached to her body violently.

“Goddammit! They are ruining everything!” She yelled in anger. Then she jumped out of the bed and paced the room like an angry tiger. “Get me out of here you sons of bitches! I am trying to protect you! You don’t know what will happen to you if you kept me here! Let me out before it is too late!”

 The agent frowned as he heard all of this then turned on his comm.

“Get me to director Fury immediately.” He said nervously. “Tell him it is urgent. Hunter woke up early and she is enraged.”

***

Fury got the call from his office and scowled.

“Is that nightmare ever going to end?” he muttered in frustration.

“Let us meet her.” Natasha said calmly. “I am sure we can reason with her.”

“She is not the same calm and collected woman that Rogers and Winchester interrogated earlier. She had gone mad! She almost killed me to get out of here!”

“That means she is probably under a tremendous amount of stress that is making her this violent.” Sam remarked.

“And we are authorized to be here and meet her.” Clint added with a raised eyebrow.

“I know that!” Fury answered sharply, then he pressed a button on his disk. “They will take you to her now.”

***

The moment Sam entered the suite followed by Nat and Clint, Sydney rushed towards them, eyes wide with hope.

“Sam! Nat! Clint, Thank God you are here!” she exclaimed looking at Sam like she had known him her whole life. Which caught him completely off guard as he stared at her with confusion. “Tell them they are making the biggest mistake in their lives! If I didn’t get out of here, a disaster will happen! Sam, please you have to help me!”

 Sam stared at her with shock. He took in her vivid, familiar green eyes, her freckles, her features, the color of her dark hair, the way she was carrying herself, the stubborn jut in her jaw, the way she speaks. The way she said his name. The way she was looking at him.

All that was so achingly familiar.

_Could it be? No, no that’s impossible._

He found himself, however, placing a calming hand on her shoulder.

“Calm down, Sydney.” He spoke in a gentle, calming voice. “Tell me what is going to happen?”

Natasha looked at her intently, while Sydney trailed her eyes between the three of them.

“Dean had turned on the launching program in my ship.” She said in frustration.

“So that’s what happened?” Clint asked.

“Yes. The problem is, there is no way to stop it. The moment the countdown is finished, the ship will launch and will go through another black hole from the Nil Zone, towards another era in the past or the future.”

“And what is the disaster in that?” Natasha asked carefully.

It seemed like the question took her aback, she turned towards Nat slowly.

“What the disaster in that?” she repeated distractedly.

That caught Sam’s attention.

“Yes, Sydney, what is the disaster in that?” He repeated more firmly.

Sydney just looked at them silently, like she was thinking it through or looking for an answer.

“What is the disaster?!” Clint demanded sternly.

“Fucking hell, those bastards are listening to every word we say!” she hissed in frustration. “But I am entitled to explain everything anyway.”

“I think that is for the best.” Sam remarked firmly.

She was silent for a few more seconds then spoke: “Actually, they are two disasters not just one. One that will affect me personally and the other is general on everyone else here.” she took a deep breath before she continued: “The personal one is that the ship will leave without me, which will mean I will never be able to complete my mission or return home.”

“And our disaster?” Natasha inquired.

“The ship has an advanced defense program that have many jobs, mainly to keep the ship safe from any attack and to keep me safe personally.”

“You?” Clint asked carefully.

“Of course. Sure the autopilot could pilot the ship but-“

She cut herself off suddenly, and frowned deeply like she just realized the danger of what she was about to say.

Sam shared a look with Nat and Clint, then leaned towards Sydney.

“What are you hiding, Sydney?” he inquired calmly.

“What makes you think I am hiding something?” her face was devoid of any emotion suddenly and was giving Sam an emotionless look that he was sure he saw somewhere before.

“We are not thinking that.” Nat answered equally calmly. “We are sure of it.”

“Sure of it?” Sydney’s face remained emotionless.

“Yes, Sydney. In case you forgot, we are pretty good at knowing this stuff.” Clint exclaimed in frustration.

Sydney was quiet for a second.

“The whole truth is not always comforting.” She said sternly. “Sometimes it is better to know only part of it.”

“Without the whole truth, you are not getting our help.” Sam reported in the same stern voice.

“The only truth you need to know is that if I didn’t get out of here before the launching of my ship, terrible consequences will happen.”

She said in a way that suggested that the disaster is coming. Soon.

 

 

     

 


	11. Chapter 11

Dean stared nervously at the ship which remained calm and quiet from where they were standing.

“Are you sure you want to do this? You really don’t have to.” Castiel asked him quietly, obviously hoping that Dean would back out.

“Sorry, baby, but I can’t let Tony go in there by himself.” Dean murmured softly to him and pressed a kiss to his forehead in attempt to relax him.

“He also doesn’t have to do it either.” Steve said in frustration, not hiding that his super hearing caught what Dean was whispering to Cas. He just stared at Tony who was talking to Bruce, unaware of their conversation.

“It all depends on you now, Brucie Bear.” Tony said as he handed Bruce a small, complicated looking device. “We will get closer to the ship, and when we are ten meters away from it, you use this to release the right signals to stop the protection shield surrounding the ship.”

“I will do the best I can, Tony.” Bruce exhaled nervously. “But I can’t promise a thing right now. The device, as you said, is still trying to analyze the signals of the protection shield, and it looks very complicated.”

“Don’t worry about it. I am sure it will analyze it quickly enough. I made it myself, didn’t I?” Tony gave him a grin. “How much time we still have?”

“An hour and six minutes from now.”

“Good enough.” Then he turned to Dean. “Are you ready?”

“Are you sure it will not attack us?” Dean asked with another nervous glance towards the ship.

“We will not be sure until we get closer.”

“How reassuring.”

“Tony.” Steve murmured looking at the genius with pleading eyes, asking him to back down silently.

Tony looked at him then sighed, coming closer to him.

“It is going to be fine.” He reassured while cupping his face gently. “I promise you, I will come back in one piece to you.”

“You better. You know that I need you.” Steve murmured, pressing a kiss to Tony’s lips.

“And I need you back.” Tony whispered against his lips.

“You really, really don’t have to do this.” Castiel whispered again, pulling Dean’s attention back to him.

“I know.” He smiled as he felt the worry coming from Castiel through their bond, trying to send reassurance.

“I have a bad feeling about this, Dean.” Castiel insisted anxiously. “Just please, don’t.”

Dean took Castiel’s hands in his own and squeezed them gently.

“You have nothing to worry about.” He reassured with a smile. “I will be back before you know it, okay?”

“Okay.” Cas sighed. Dean kissed him on the forehead and pulled away just when Tony stepped back next to him.

“Ready?”

“Nope, but let’s go.”

“Good luck, my friends!” Thor boomed loudly from his place next Bruce, making them jump. “We will be here to protect you if anything goes south.”

“Thanks, buddy.” Dean smiled at him. With one last look at Castiel and Steve, they started to walk towards the ship.

“I swear Thor is going to kill me one day from the volume of his voice.” Tony groaned while he walked beside Dean. “He should go easy on me, I have a heart condition!”

“Oh, please! Like you are going to go out without a dramatic scene.” Dean rolled his eyes with a chuckle.

“What? Who doesn’t want to go out with a kickass bang? Death by Thor’s voice sounds humiliating and uncool!”

“I had uncool deaths before, so what?”

“I can’t believe you had reached a point where you can say such sentence without noticing how bizarre it sounds.”

“You get used to it.”

***

From afar, the army colonel watched Dean and Tony with wide eyes.

“What are they made of?!” he exclaimed in shock. “They are laughing and bickering while walking towards that death machine like they are having a friendly walk in the park!” 

“They are Avengers.” Rhodey just shrugged beside him with a smile.

The colonel turned to him sharply and was about to say something but stopped, he just trailed his eyes back to the two men.

“Yeah,” he murmured quietly. “They are Avengers.”

***

“Forty meters and everything is still going well.”

Tony murmured quietly, eyes never leaving the ship.

“I feel like this stupid ball is watching us.” Dean whispered also staring at the ship.

“Well, of course it is.”

“You mean it could attack us at any moment of suspicion?!”

“I don’t think so. Machines don’t attack at suspicion. It will probably attack at any sign of hostility.”

“I hope so.”

“Guys!” Bruce’s voice called through the comms. “The device had made a great progress. I think it will decode the shield on time.”

“How much time it will give us to cross it?” Dean asked curiously.

“Not more than five seconds I am afraid.”

Tony and Dean shared a look, then the latter nodded firmly.

“I think it will be enough.”

“Please, be careful, guys.” Steve said anxiously.

“We will.”

They continued to walk towards the ship, but as they got closer, Dean started to stare at the ball with more focus as he remembered something.

“Dude, weren’t you working on a similar defense system for the tower?” He asked suddenly, looking over at Tony. “But the ball was bigger?”

Tony looked back at him in confusion.

“Well, yeah. But I let go of that project since the huge ball became too dangerous from the amount of weapons I programmed it with and started to chase everyone in the tower if they touched a knife or something. So I shut it down.” His eyes widened as he understood what Dean was getting at. “Wait, are you trying to say I might have made that? Future me, I mean.”

“You have to admit that your smell is all over it.”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“The ship is hot red and gold for starters.” Dean rolled his eyes with a raised eyebrow.

Tony’s eyes widened even more and was about to say something, but Dean suddenly grabbed his arm tightly and stilled them both while staring at the golden sphere in panic.

Tony followed his gaze and froze in panic.

The sphere separated from the ship’s body and started to shake violently until it split into two identical spheres. One returned back to the ship’s body, while the other darted forward.

Right towards Tony and Dean.

***

“You are hiding something, Sydney. We know you do, so just get this over with.”

Natasha snapped sharply, had had gotten enough of Sydney’s attitude.

However, Sydney’s face remained emotionless and it threw Natasha a little.

“Everyone deserves to keep some of their secrets.” Sydney just shrugged coolly.

“Not if those secrets threatens us all.” Clint said angrily.

“That’s what you think.”

“Why are you doing this?” Sam asked more calmly. “We are trying to help you. But you insist in surrounding yourself with all this mystery. Why?”

Sam’s gentle voice and sincere eyes must have done some magic, because Sydney’s cold face broke a little then.

“I can’t say everything, Sam.” She whispered, sounding sincerely sorry and distressed. “I already said too much and already threatened my time. If I said more it might threaten my own existence, which I don’t really care about much but-“ she was quiet for a second then added. “But if my existence was affected it will affect my family. I can’t let that happen no matter what.”

 The three of them were taken aback, not expecting that answer. Natasha stared at her with wide eyes. Sydney was trying to protect her family. The mission that led her here and got her stranded away from home for years was all to save her family from certain death.

And they were treating her like a criminal, forgetting in the process that, in the future, that woman is an Avenger. A hero.

Sydney then placed a gentle hand on Sam’s arm, looking at him sincerely.

“I meant no harm to your time.” She said quietly. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”

Strangely, the touch didn’t irk Natasha or made her want to remove Sydney’s hand from Sam’s arm. The look Sydney was giving Sam was a look you don’t give to someone you are interested in. It was a look you give to a close family member.

Just then, they all heard loud, violent explosions from outside and Natasha saw Sydney’s hand started to shake on Sam’s arm.

“What was that?!” Clint exclaimed nervously.

“That.” Sydney bit her lower lip bitterly. “Is the disaster I was telling you about.”

 ***

“No!” Steve screamed in panic while Castiel’s body jerked violently when they saw the Sphere darting towards their husbands.

“It’s attacking them!” Thor shouted grapping his hammer tightly, ready to swing it towards the death sphere.

Rhodey and the colonel froze in panic with Rhodey’s heart almost stopping.

Dean pulled Tony towards the ground and covered him shouting: “Goddammit! It is doing it!”

 Steve, Thor and Castiel were about to move fast to do something before the sphere could destroy Tony and Dean.

But the sphere just flew over them and away, completely ignoring them, until it disappeared in the horizon.

“Where is it going?!” Bruce exclaimed following it with his eyes.

Then a loud crack sounded in the air.

“It broke the sound barrier.” Tony murmured with wide eyes.

“Where did it go?” Castiel asked in confusion.

“I-I don’t know.” Steve answered nervously, trying to force himself to relax.

***

Dean exhaled as he got back to his feet while pulling Tony with him.

“God, for a moment there I thought-“

“Me too.” Tony cut him off nervously. “But I guess my theory was right.”

“All your theories are always right.” Dean commented with a smile.

“Luckily.”

“Nope. Because of that crazy brain of yours.”

“Thanks. I think.” Tony smiled back at him, relaxing a little.

“Seventeen meters and everything is still going well.” Dean reported through the comms as they started to walk again towards the ship.

“The device did it, guys! It decoded the protective shield’s code!” Bruce exclaimed excitedly.

“When can you undo the shield?” Dean asked anxiously.

“Any moment now. I just turn it on and the shield will be down for three to five seconds.”

“And what about that freakin’ ball?”

“It is supposed to be deactivated with the shield for a second or two then it will turn on again.”

“Perfect. Everything is perfect. Superb. So we pretty much only have two seconds or-“

“It will be enough.” Tony reassured with determination.

***

Meanwhile, Steve’s hands were shaking violently as he watched Tony and Dean walk towards the ship.

He felt Castiel’s gentle hand on his shoulder but he could tell that the angel was equally scared.

God, why did they insist in scaring the hell out of them?

“Now, guys!” Bruce shouted through the comms.

Then, Tony and Dean sprinted towards the ship as fast as they could, making Steve and Castiel’s bodies jerk again nervously.

***

The golden sphere was still during the two seconds it took Tony and Dean to reach the ship, the latter jumped to attach to it and pulled its door open to jump inside it then helped Tony up until they both stood inside the ship, panting heavily.

“God, I didn’t think it was going to be that easy.” Dean panted.

“I think I didn’t run like that all my life.” Tony said, also panting heavily.

“At least we got inside. But the door was open, did you notice that?”

“I was expecting that. Whoever built this ship is probably a cocky bastard who never thought anyone could go past the protective shield and the sphere.”

“But we did. Which meant anyone could have-“ he cut himself off as he stared at the inside of the ship. “Man, we are actually inside it!”

“It is spacious from the inside.” Tony commented, also looking around curiously. “It could fit four people. There is two piloting seats and two for passengers.” Then as he got closer he frowned deeply. “Look at this. Everything in here. It is all Starktech! It might be smaller but I recognize my tech anywhere.”

“Honestly, dude? I am not really that surprised.” Dean shrugged with a small smile.

Tony turned towards him with wide eyes and was about to say something but was interrupted.

“Tony, can you hear me?” Steve’s worried voice sounded through the comms.

“Yeah, baby. I am here. What is it?” he answered in a calming voice to his worried husband.

“Bruce’s comm went down when he activated the device for some reason. He is saying that the ship changed the code of the protective shield with a more complicated one.”

“You mean we are trapped here?!” Dean exclaimed in worry.

“We still have an hour to figure this out.” Tony assured him looking down at his watch. “Do you hear me, honey? We will find a way inside the ship to remove the shield and stop the countdown. You don’t have to worry.” Then he looked at the tech in front of him. “I think I found where all the ships archives are stored. I will tell JARVIS to transfer it back to his system to analyze it.”

“How are you going to tell him to do that?” Dean asked in confusion.

Tony took a very small device from his pocket and placed it under the main computer screen. They waited for a few seconds, then the screen turned on along with all the other tech inside the ship.

“I am successfully downloaded inside the Time ship, sir.” JARVIS’ voice sounded from around them.

“Whoah.” Dean murmured looking around with wide eyes.

“Copy all the ship’s archives and files into your system and analyze them for a way to stop the countdown. Then for a way to remove the shield.” Tony ordered firmly.

“As you wish, sir.”

***

The sphere appeared suddenly in the sky in New York while it darted with high speed, no radar managed to caught it as it searched for one person.

Sydney.

The ship’s captain who didn’t send any signal, indicating she was ready to take off since the start of the countdown.

And that was the main purpose of the defense system.

To bring the captain.

No matter what.

Then the sphere located her.

And darted towards her location.

***

In SHIELD headquarters, the observation team saw the sphere.

“An unknown body is heading towards us.”

And with efficient speed, the agents and the security moved to fend off the attack.

Then, they shot the target with their weapons as it got closer with efficiency.

And explosions sounded in New York’s sky.

***

“It is my robot guardian.” Sydney said nervously. “That is what I was afraid off.”

“And why did it come here?” Natasha asked anxiously.

“It is part of its system! Either I go to it or it comes for me.” then, she grabbed Natasha’s shoulders firmly. “Try to save the lives that are about to be lost! Tell them to stop fighting. To cease fire! And to let me go! And everything will be alright!”

Natasha was about to say something, but Fury trudged in the room ahead of a group of agents.

“No fucking way! Your trick will not fool anyone!” Fury barked sharply. “You are not getting out of here.”

“I will get out, wither you like it or not!” Sydney shouted viciously at his face.

“You will be transferred immediately to a safe bunker until we destroy your little robot.” Fury signaled for the agents to grab Sydney.

“You will never be able to! All your army is no match for it! It was built by the smartest person you ever met.” That made Natasha turned towards her with wide eyes. “It is unstoppable! Let me out before people lose their lives!”

“Stark?!” Natasha exclaimed in shock making Sydney look at her. Her face paling as she realized what she said.

“Take her.” Fury ordered his agents who immediately darted towards Sydney.

“Let her go, Fury! If future Tony really is the one who made that thing then there is no way to stop it!” Sam exclaimed anxiously.

“God, what is happening?” Clint gripped his head tightly with wide eyes, trying to take all of this in.

Sydney was viciously fighting with the agents.

“You idiots! I am trying to save you! I am-“

Before she could finish her shouting, another stronger explosion sounded, that shook the whole suite, and then a robotic voice sounded through the building.

 “Warning! Evacuate the building. This is code zero. I repeat, this is code zero.”

“Oh God, code zero?!” Fury’s face paled at that.

He knew by code zero, it means that the enemy is way too powerful for their defenses.

Which meant Sydney was right.

She is going to get out of here.

“Goddammit, Stark! A pain in my ass even in the future!” he shouted in anger. “Kill her! Kill Hunter! Now!”

With his shout, the agents raised their guns towards Sydney.

“No, don’t!” Sam, Nat and Clint screamed and moved to try and stop them.

But then, the golden sphere stormed into the suite.

And before the agents could even turn towards it, it started its vicious attack.

It detected the guns pointed towards the captain and started what it was programmed to do.

To protect the captain.

Sam grabbed Natasha towards the floor to cover her with his body, Clint falling next to them as the first agent exploded then the other while the third screamed as he grabbed his head with blood falling from his ears, nose and mouth.

With pure terror, the others threw their weapons and ran out of the room in fear.

“You cowards! Kill her!” Fury screamed after them as he jumped towards one of the guns, then the sphere turned towards him, and-

“No!” Sydney shouted, and the sphere froze midair. “Don’t kill him!”

Fury’s eye widened in shock as he stared at her, not believing that she just saved his life, even though he just ordered his agents to kill her.

“Enough killing.” Sydney said bitterly, then she raised her tear filled eyes towards Sam, Nat and Clint. “I’m sorry. For everything.”

They all froze while staring at her, while the sphere grew bigger and bigger until it swallowed Sydney completely inside it, making them gasp in shock.

Then, the sphere darted out of the room so fast, disappearing back into the sky, leaving everyone behind frozen in place.

***

“Did you get everything?” Tony asked JARVIS anxiously.

“Yes, sir.” The AI answered. “But I didn’t find any way to stop the countdown, sir. The info is in an unknown language and I am still trying to figure it out as fast as possible.”

“What about Bruce? Did he manage to decode the shield?” Tony asked through the comms.

“He is doing his best.” Steve answered in worry. “He says it is very complicated.”

“I’d rather die than stay in this damned thing!” Dean murmured in frustration.

“Try to be patient, Dean. We still have forty minutes to figure this out.”

 “Maybe there is another way.” Castiel’s voice sounded from the comms.

“What is it?” Dean asked hopefully.

“All the ship’s defenses are made to keep people out but is it made to keep people in?”

“This is genius, Cas!” Tony exclaimed excitedly.

“What? What is genius?” Dean asked in confusion.

“What Cas is trying to say is that the ship’s defenses will not prevent us from getting out.” Tony explained.

“And what about the shield?”

“In most times, this shield is made to only prevent the passage from one direction only.”

“Does that involve the golden sphere?”

Before Tony could answer, a loud crack sounded in the sky.

“The other sphere came back!” Tony exclaimed, pointing towards the sky.

“Dammit! I knew things won’t be this easy.” Dean snapped in frustration.

Tony stared at the approaching sphere that looked way bigger than before, as it darted towards the ship.

And directly towards its open door.

“What is happening?” Dean asked taking a few steps away from the door.

Then a pretty brunette got out of the sphere and stood frozen as she stared at them with wide eyes.

“Tony? Dean? How the hell did you get in here?” she exclaimed, like she had knew them all her life.

“You are Sydney, I presume.” Tony said instead, looking her up and down. “How did you get out of SHIELD?”

“No time for this! You need to get out! Now! You don’t have much time!”

“We still have at least thirty minutes till the countdown is done, it is-“ Dean started but was cut off.

“What countdown?! You don’t understand! The countdown would continue if I was away! But now that I am here it is different!”

“Tony! Dean! The countdown stopped suddenly!” Steve shouted. “Run! Get out of there!”

With his shout, the ship’s doors closed and its engines turned on.

“No.” Dean breathed with wide eyes.

Then a crack sounded through the air as the ship darted towards the sky to start a new journey.

In a new era.

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

Steve’s knees hit the sand as he stared with horror at the sky where the time ship disappeared.

The ship was gone.

With Tony and Dean.

They’re gone.

_Tony is gone._

These three words kept echoing through his head until it was the only thing he could hear. He was vaguely aware of Thor’s loud voice shouting, Rhodey’s panicked words, Bruce’s freak out, but he couldn’t tell what they were saying.

Because Tony was gone. And the toll of that sentence was slowly settling in. It felt like ice cold water was poured on him and soon found himself shivering even with the blazing heat of the desert.

He was cold. He was panicking. And Tony wasn’t there to keep him warm and sane.

He was alone again.

He felt someone landing on his knees next to him and something made him look over. Only to see an equally lost and horrified Castiel next to him staring straight ahead blankly. For the first time ever, Steve saw the angel looking defeated.

Cas felt Steve’s eyes at him and he turned slowly. Their eyes met, equally lost, equally blank, and a silent communication went between them. And a single sentence went through both their heads on repeat.

Dean and Tony were gone.

***

It was a very violent launch to space, that Tony and Dean felt like they were being crushed by the huge pressure as the ship darted towards space at a horrifying speed.

“Goddammit!” Dean screamed with all the pain and anger raging through him. “How the fuck did we get ourselves into this?!”

“No use in shouting, Dean” Tony exclaimed, barley able to pull the words out of his mouth. “It’s over.”

“I am afraid it is only the beginning.” Sydney yelled in frustration.

Then, everything suddenly stopped. Like the speed of the ship suddenly decreased to zero without warning. The strange thing was that they didn’t feel any pain from the sudden stop or they didn’t fell from their seats.

On the contrary, they felt a strange sense of calm.

“What happened?” Dean asked in confusion, looking around.

“We reached the Nil Zone.” Sydney sighed tiredly.

They looked at the white nothingness surrounding them from everywhere, with black holes scattered around with different sizes.

“What the hell?” Dean muttered as he stared through the large glass front of the ship.

“It is the zone where everything drop to zero.” Tony explained even though he was barley holding himself back from panicking. “Sound. Light. Even time.”

“Exactly.” Sydney confirmed, slumping in her chair.

Dean looked between them, obviously also panicking and having a hard time at hiding it.

“So, since we are going to apparently spend an awful long time together, I should properly introduce myself.” Sydney started with a sardonic smile. “Hi, I’m Sydney! I know who you guys are. I love you guys in the future. Not so much right now though.”

“Speaking of the future.” Tony started when he saw Dean’s face go red with rage at her attitude and tried to defuse the situation. “Who build this ship?”

“I thought the hot red and gold paint job is a pretty obvious telltale.” Sydney rolled her eyes. Then raised an eyebrow at him. “It’s you, dude. Yes, Tony Stark is the first one to manage to build a time ship. Congratulations! Can we go back to our current problem now?”

Tony stared at her with wide, disbelieving eyes, trying to absorb the important information she just carelessly and casually revealed. He looked back at Dean with the same wide eyed look.

 “Again, not really surprised, dude.” Dean just shrugged with also a raised eyebrow. Which looked exactly like the way Sydney just did it that Tony stopped and stared at the both of them with confused eyes.

“Now that is out of the way, which hole do you want to go through first?” she waved her hand idly at the view outside the ship.

“The one that will take us home obviously.” Dean spat angrily. Looks like he chose anger to hide his panic in a very Dean way.

“How genius! Why didn’t I think of that? If it was that easy, none of that would have happened!” then she pointed at the holes. “Now, tell me genius, which hole should we go through to your home?”

“The one we came out from, you cocky bitch!”

“Where is it?! Watch the emptiness around us and you will realize that everything rotates or we are the one rotating. Nothing remains where it is. There is no coordinates. No directions. Or even stars to guide us. You don’t even know where we came from or where are we going.” Then she moved so she was directly in front of Dean and they both stared at each other with identical glares. “In conclusion, there is no way to return to a certain time. There is no way at all.”

“No.” Tony objected, making the both of them turn to him in surprise. “There must be a way to return home. We just don’t know it yet.”

“Well, future you didn’t know how to navigate through time. What makes you think you can?” Sydney snapped angrily.

Tony felt his own anger rising but Dean beat him to it.

“Shut up.” Dean growled at her. “Don’t talk to him like that! If anyone could get us out of this it would be him.”

“Great! The one who put us in this situation in the first place because he couldn’t keep his wandering fingers to himself is choosing the fantasy solution! Let me applaud you for your enthusiasm!”

“You little-“ Dean gripped her from her shirt and they raised their fists ready to punch.

“Stop, just please, stop!” Tony exclaimed grabbing his head and shut his eyes in attempt to calm his raising heartbeat and rapid breathing. “I am barley managing to keep myself from going through a full on panic attack here and you two are not helping! We are in a terrible situation. We are stranded away from home and our family are probably panicking right now. So, stop acting like angry teenagers and think of a way to get out of this!”

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few seconds, then released each other with tired sighs.

“Sorry.” Dean murmured looking down in defeat.

“No, I’m sorry.” Sydney sighed again, looking away. “My existence is threatened heavily right now and it is making me anxious.” Tony and Dean stared at her in confusion but she just continued. “The only option here is to continue my journey. Across time.”

“What if we stayed here?” Dean asked nervously. “Maybe the team back home will find a way to lead us back.”

“Nothing could stay here for long.” Sydney shook her head tiredly. “It is not made for humans. Or even inanimate objects. If we stayed here too long, our molecules will disintegrate and we will be a mere energy floating around the place. Scattered forever.”

“Great. So we are doomed, aren’t we?”

“Not if we carried on with the journey.” Then she pointed at the holes again. “Come on. Choose a nice looking hole.”

“Well, the shortest distances between two places is a straight line.” Tony commented with a shrug.

Sydney smiled a little as she took the piloting seat. “Alright then.”

She pressed the launching button and the ship darted with its unbelievable speed towards the hole right in front of them and preached it.

Tony and Dean’s bodies jerked violently and they stared with wide eyes.

Around them, hundreds of colors and lights merged together. Sunsets and sunrises repeating over and over. Clouds gathering and scattering.

Then, suddenly, all of that stopped. And the sun shined over a countryside view that stretched at a wide range.

The ship’s speed decreased as it flew in the sky of this new era.

“Watch out!” Dean exclaimed suddenly, pointing straight ahead.

Just then, Sydney realized that she almost collided with an old fighter aircraft. She rose with the ship fast which shocked the pilot of the fighter aircraft and disoriented him so much that his aircraft leaned sideways dangerously and fell towards the ground, but soon managed to regain control and flew around with it like he was trying to find the ship that almost made him drop.

“Son of a bitch. Have you seen the type of this aircraft?!” Dean exclaimed as he stared at it.

“Yeah.” Tony answered as he also stared with interest. “Messerschmitt Bf 109. A German fighter, one seated aircraft.”

Sydney frowned anxiously at that as she landed the ship at a secluded area in the countryside.

“German? That means we went back in time.” Dean commented with a frown.

When the ship landed successfully, the three of them left it.

“Try to enjoy this era.” Sydney said while pulling out a small device from her pocket and pressed a button. “Since we are forced to spend a whole three days in it until the ship is able to do another time jump.”

Then the ship glowed and disappeared suddenly.

“Did it go invisible?” Dean asked curiously looking over at her.

“Nope. That will only make it invisible to the eyes but still touchable. This will make it invisible in both matter and vision.”

“Is it a dimensions thing?” Tony asked with interest.

“Nope.” She didn’t say anything else and Tony kept his mouth shut.

They started to walk carefully through the fields, trying to study the area surrounding them.

“I think we are in France.” Sydney commented carefully.

Tony looked at a country house from afar.

“Yeah. In the first half of the twentieth century.” Tony confirmed with a nod.

“Should have paid more attention in history class.” Dean sighed in frustration while looking around. Until he saw something at the horizon. “Hey guys, look there. At that hill.”

Sydney pulled out an advanced looking binoculars and placed it on her eyes to see what Dean was pointing at. Then she frowned deeply before giving the binoculars to Dean.

“I think you should see this.” she said grimly.

Dean took it and placed it on his eyes, only to freeze in panic.

“Crap!” Dean cursed loudly, making Tony step closer to him in anxious curiosity. “Of all the eras we could have landed in, we end up in that?!”

“What is it? Dean, let me see!” Tony took the binoculars from Dean and looked around with it on his eyes.

“I only see fields and old looking buildings and-“ he cut himself off with a sharp gasp as his eyes landed on a flag  fluttering over said buildings.

A bloody red flag with a white circle in the middle and a crooked, black cross inside it.

The flag of Nazi Germany. 

 

  

 

 

   


	13. Chapter 13

Silence filled the normally loud and chaotic communal living room in the tower.

They all just sat there, most of them with tears falling silently from their eyes while the rest just sat in shock, still trying to take what happened in.

And the fact that the room was unbearably silent without Tony and Dean’s loud bickering and obnoxious jokes, wasn’t exactly helping.

They left a huge hole in the room that was consuming everyone slowly but surely.

Sam was on one of the couches, eyes wide as he tried to take in the fact that his brother didn’t and couldn’t come home, Natasha was next to him with her head on his shoulder, she had long lost the fight at keeping in her tears and were slowly falling on her cheeks. Thor, Clint and Bruce also weren’t holding back their tears as they sat on the other couch. Castiel was sitting next to Sam, looking lost, defeated and just staring at the floor. He looked like a huge part of him was forcibly ripped out of him and what was left wasn’t enough to even let him held his head up. Meanwhile, Steve was sitting on the armchair, staring blankly straight ahead, obviously trying to look strong in front of them but Sam could clearly see that he will fall apart any second.

Even though it was only mere hours had passed, but he already misses his brother’s loud, obnoxious voice and Tony’s manic ramblings. He misses Castiel’s and Steve’s fond, happy smiles. He missed the laughter in the room.

He wants all of this back.

“No. no, guys we can’t just sit like this.” he shook his head firmly, trying to wipe away the grief that was threatening to take him over. “We can’t lose hope. We have to try and do something.”

“What can we do, Sam?” Natasha whispered brokenly next to him. “You know that Sydney even with all her advanced technology, failed to find a way back to her home.”

“Maybe we will find that way.” Sam insisted sternly.

“How, Sam? How?” Bruce asked in defeat.

“I don’t know how. I am not a scientist like you. But we are a group of very smart, resourceful and stubborn people. And if there is one thing I learned from everything that happened in my life, is that to never lose hope, no matter what.” Then he looked at Bruce intently. “According to what you said, Tony had transferred all the ship’s archives and files to JARVIS. Which means you can have a look at them with the help of any scientist or even NASA if it came to it, to see the progress the ship did along the years and we might actually find a way to bring Tony and Dean back. And Sydney.”

Bruce froze and looked at him contemplatively, his tears stopped, then he looked at Natasha, who also stopped crying and listened to Sam with renewed hope, and seemed like they were already thinking of something.

“Nice optimism, Sam.” Clint muttered bitterly. “But what if they were dead by now?”

His words made Steve and Cas jerk violently, like they were slapped, and Sam glared at Clint.

“They are not dead!” Sam yelled in anger. Then his gaze got a little dazed. “They are there somewhere. Across time.”

All tears stopped, and their eyes met.

And they started to hope again.

***

Colonel Eberhard furrowed his eyebrows in the Paris air force base, as he listened to one of his pilots.

“Have you gone mad?” he demanded angrily. “What crazy story are you telling me? The whole world knows that the German aircraft is the strongest of all. And we have information about what the allies’ last development, and they certainly didn’t make an aircraft with amazing speed like the one you described.”

“But I did face that aircraft, sir.” The pilot insisted.

“And I am telling you it is impossible!”

“It didn’t have any flags or a sign that said where is it from, but I saw it as clear as day. I almost collided with it! That can’t be a hallucination.”

“Fine. I will go along with your story. Let’s say that the allies made such an amazing aircraft.” Then he leaned towards the pilot continuing angrily. “Why didn’t they try to attack us with a fleet of those aircrafts? Even though that will guarantee their victory with no doubt?”

 “Maybe they are still flight testing it before the actual attack.”

The answer made sense in a scary way that it made the colonel step back with wide eyes.

“And what can we do in such situation?” he muttered with huge eyes.

“What our orders said, sir.” It was the pilot’s turn to lean towards the colonel. “To gather all the information we could find, and comb out the area, searching for the spies that that aircraft had certainly dropped. Then…”

He stopped and leaned back, still staring at the colonel.

“Then what?” the colonel asked anxiously.

“We report to the Gestapo, sir.”

***

“Well, we certainly landed in the worst era ever.” Dean announced while pinching the bridge of his nose with a groan. “Just our luck. If Cas knew we came here he will laugh hysterically at the irony.”

“Why? Did Cas come here before?” Tony asked in surprise.

“Yeah. He told me heaven sent him back in time here for a mission after a few months of meeting him, but he didn’t really tell me much details. Just told me it was one of the most terrible eras ever and what he faced here was hell.”

“Wait, if Cas can go back in time, can he come for us?” Tony looked at him hopefully.

“He can’t do it anymore.” Dean shook his head sadly. “It needs too much grace and it might kill him before he even reach us.”

Dean fought the overwhelming wave of loss at the thought of his husband. His connection to Cas was ripped away violently from him the moment the time ship left earth, and all he could feel right now is emptiness that is threatening to drown him if he thought about it. It was the same feeling he got every time Castiel died, and Dean was barley holding himself together from breaking down, for Tony’s sake. He knew the genius was also suffering and on the verge of falling apart too. Dean was trying to keep the both of them on their feet to get out of this situation.

“Well, then our situation is not going to change anytime soon then.” Sydney sighed while pulling out a coin sized device from her pocket. “Now, which one of you can speak French and German fluently?”

Tony and Dean looked at each other then back at her. Dean shook his head with a shrug.

“I caught a few things from both languages from Steve but only inappropriate words if you get what I mean.” Tony smirked a little looking back at Dean.

“Really didn’t need to know that, dude.” Dean rolled his eyes with a groan.

“What? He is unbelievably hot when he talks dirty to me with either of those languages and while he-“

“Abort! Abort! Abort!” both Dean and Sydney exclaimed while covering their ears making Tony pout at them.

“You guys are no fun.”

“So, basically, neither of you can speak German or French.” Sydney sighed with a glare Tony’s way. “Okay, no problem.”

She walked towards Dean and turned him around sharply and placed the coin at the back of his head.

“Hey! What the hell are you doing? And what is that?” Dean exclaimed while trying to turn around again but Sydney held his head in place firmly.

“It is a language implanter device, courtesy of future Tony Stark.” She explained while pressing the coin firmly.

“What?” Tony exclaimed while Dean shouted while trying to turn again: “Listen, Syd. I-“

 “Don’t move.” Sydney ordered while grapping his head again.

Then Dean felt a needle piercing the back of his neck.

“Fuck! That hurts!”

“Don’t move! The device is doing its job!”

Tony was watching the whole thing with deep interest while Dean squirmed agitatedly.

“I am warning you, Syd. If that-“

“Dean! Be patient!” she sighed, then leaned towards the device and whispered. “French and German. Mid twentieth century.”

Then Dean felt like an electric current came from the device then spread violently through his whole head and his body jerked violently.

“Fuck!” he shouted.

“Did it hurt?” Sydney asked with a smirk as she removed the device from his neck.

“Yeah! You little-“ then he cut himself off as he stared at her with wide eyes. “Hey, I understood what you just said even though it was in French!”

“Not only that.” She patted his shoulder with a fond smile. “You answered in French too.”

“Holy shit! Yeah, I did! This is awesome!”

“God, I am a genius in any time.” Tony murmured with a grin. “Come on, do me.”

While Sydney repeated the process with Tony who kept asking millions of questions about the device, Dean looked around curiously.

The moment Sydney was done with Tony, a German aircraft flew over them suddenly, very close to the ground that they ducked instinctively.

“Shit, they saw us!” Dean yelled.

“They are surrounding the place.” Sydney said with furrowed brows as she looked around them.

Tony and Dean saw the team of soldiers, Sydney was pointing at, which was getting closer to where they were rapidly.

“My suit would have been very helpful right now.” Tony muttered while biting his lower lip nervously.

“We will talk about this when we get out of this in one piece!” Dean yelled, while grabbing Tony’s arm and dragged him to run away, Sydney following their lead.

***

“There are two men and a woman in the area.” The pilot said through the radio. “They are running away towards northeast.”

“Don’t let them get out of the area until our men reach them.” The colonel’s voice came firmly.

“Do we shoot them, sir?”

It was silent for a few seconds before he got his answer.

“Their death is better than their escape.”

“Understood, sir.”

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

Tony, Dean and Sydney ran through the fields as fast as they could.

“Where is your golden ball?” Dean exclaimed at Sydney. “Why isn’t it protecting you now?”

“The robot guardian is part of the ship.” She answered while panting. “And it can’t activate until three days when it is recharged.”

“I am not sure this welcoming party will wait three whole days!” Just then bullets ran on them from the aircraft heavily. “What did I just say?!”

“They are not trying to kill us.” Tony panted while still being dragged by Dean. “They are just trying to stop us.”

“How’d you know?” Sydney asked in confusion.

“He intended not to harm us. The bullets are too far.”

“But we can’t keep running forever!” Dean cried in frustration.

Tony looked around until he saw a group of trees nearby.

“There!” he pointed at them. “This will help us hide!”

***

“The spies are headed towards the trees, sir.” The pilot said.

“Perfect.” Came Colonel Eberhard’s short answer.

***

The three of them darted through the trees.

“Let’s split up here.” Dean called firmly. “That will tire them. It will give one of us a chance to survive and return back to the ship later and activate the ball then-“

“The ship will only follow my lead.” Sydney interrupted sternly.

“Well, that means we have to stick together.” Tony sighed in frustration. “What if-“

Dean suddenly gripped his arm firmly, interrupting him.

“Wait.” he whispered, making the other two to look at him in worry and gestured for them to stay quiet. “Some of them are here.”

Even before he finished his sentence, they caught sight of movement between the trees.

“Fuck, they surrounded us.”

Dean looked helplessly at the three tanks that were making their way towards them through the fields, surrounded by armed soldiers.

The Nazis’ forces did surround them.

And there was no escape.

“Do you want my opinion?” Sydney looked at them with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah.”

“What if we surrendered?”

“Surrendered?!” Dean muttered in shock.

“Are you out of your mind?” Tony whispered in anger. “Or is it the worst joke I have ever heard?”

“But it is the wisest thing to do right now. We are in daylight. The Germans are surrounding us. We are outnumbered and there is no chance to escape.”

Dean leaned towards her with a glare. “Do you have any idea what they will do to us if we fall into their hands?”

“Of course. But it will be way worst if we fell into their hands after fighting and resisting. We can convince them we are just three French, terrified citizens.”

“After they saw the ship?” Tony asked sharply.

“They will never find it. And no one can prove it is real. That will help our situation.”

Tony and Dean looked at each other silently for a few seconds then looked back at her with matching determined looks on their faces.

“You obviously don’t understand those people very well, Syd.” Dean started firmly. “They don’t waste their time to look for reasons or a proof of innocence. They just assume that you are guilty or a spy until proven otherwise. And since proving otherwise isn’t easy, and since they don’t value the non-German human life very much, they prefer to end that doubt with a faster and easier way.” Then he made his hand into a gun and pointed it at Sydney’s forehead. “A bullet to the head.”

Sydney just looked at him silently.

“Well, if death is inevitable, I prefer to die fighting.” Tony shrugged with a sigh.

Sydney turned her eyes towards him then straightened herself up. “Me too.” they both looked at her in surprise. “Dean obviously know more about them from Cas, so I will follow your lead.”

“Well, looks like we will fight back with our bare hands and-“

“Nope.” Sydney interrupted Tony while pulling something from her pocket. She opened her palm and they saw five small balls, each one with different color. “We have weapons that will be enough to fight back.”

“Are those made by me too?” Tony asked, looking at them curiously.

“Not really. Those are made by my dad. Specifically for me.” She looked at the balls sadly for a second before gathering herself up. Tony looked at her contemplatively.

“So what with the whole talk about surrendering?” Dean asked angrily.

“You could say I was just testing your reactions and see if Steve rubbed off on you.” she smirked at them and they looked at her angrily.

“Anyway.” Dean stopped Tony who was about to say something to her. “I think I have a plan.”

***

Colonel Eberhard stood on the roof of the main building in the base, and gazed at the fields in front of him that ended far away with the area of thick, entangled trees.

“The siege is complete, sir.” One of his men said from beside him. “Our men surrounding the area of trees completely, and they are going through it, like you ordered.”

“And the others?” the colonel asked without looking.

“There is four tanks surrounding the place. And our fighting aircraft is still flying around the area and monitors any movement inside it.”

“The trees there are thick. The plane won’t be able to monitor anything.”

“Do we call it back, sir?”

The colonel was silent for a few seconds then answered firmly. “Not yet.”

The officer went silent then spoke again carefully : “I am sorry, sir, but aren’t we overreacting a little with dealing with only three suspects?”

“This is not your business!” The colonel shouted at him sternly. “I have my reasons.”

***

Meanwhile, the Germans were tightening the siege further and further while their Captain gestured with his hand.

“Get closer. And don’t shoot. We need them alive and figure out who sent them. And tell the tanks to get through the forest from four directions, we will not give them a chance to escape.”

The tanks began to move between the trees, while the soldiers got closer and closer and the plane flew around the area.

“The trees are obstructing my view.” The pilot said through the radio. “I will try to get lower, maybe I will be able to see something.”

Confusion filled the soldiers when the siege got smaller and smaller until they could see the other soldiers from the other side clearly with no sign of the three spies. The captain stopped and looked around carefully.

“Spread out. We must have missed them. This time shoot without warning.” He ordered firmly.

The pilot then, got closer to the trees tops.

“Everything looked quiet. I don’t hear shooting, which means our men still-“

He cut himself off as he stared at a spot between the trees, Dean emerged suddenly from it and threw one of the five balls at the plane shouting : “Go to hell, you son of a bitch!”

The ball hit the plane’s tail and exploded violently then the plane fell towards the fields. At the same time, Sydney threw a ball between the soldiers while Tony threw a third one between the space of one of the tanks and the soldiers.

The second ball exploded and released a thick cloud of smoke, while the third one exploded releasing a bright light that blinded the tank’s crew.

Dean, Tony and Sydney jumped down from the trees while covering their eyes and noses.

And it became a blind battle.

Bullets were being shot everywhere, punches and kicks were delivered without recognition.

Since they knew their target, the three of them darted towards the tank directly, guided by the bright light from the third ball.

Before the crew of the tank regained their vision, the three jumped on them from three different directions, with a previously prepared plan. Sydney jumped on its front and kicked the machine gun soldier, Tony punched the soldier at the rear gun, while Dean jumped on the crew inside, breaking the first’s nose, throwing the second from the tank and kicking the third in his jaw.

In a record time, the three of them cleared out the tank from its crew.

“Looks like Castiel’s lessons are doing you good, Metal Head.” Dean commented with a grin.

“Apparently, yes it did.” Tony grinned back as he and Sydney got inside the tank.

“Anyone of you can drive this thing?” Sydney asked anxiously.

“I think I am the man for this job.” Dean jumped on the driving seat.

The smoke was clearing out and the bright light was diminishing while the German captain was shouting at his soldiers anxiously until he caught sight of one of the tanks driving away with its crew unconscious outside of it.

“The spies took over one of the tanks and are escaping with it!” he screamed with wide eyes. “Stop them!”

Bullets rained behind the tank while Dean drove it with high speed.

“Do you think there is any hope of getting out of this?” Dean exclaimed nervously.

“Just go, we have no other choice.” Tony called back anxiously.

***

“Those spies are using strange weapons we never saw before, Colonel.” The captain called through the radio. “They let out clouds of smoke, a bright light that blinded us then they took over one of the tanks and are trying to escape with it.”

The colonel heard the news with wide, surprised eyes.

“Strange weapons? Clouds? Bright light?” he muttered in confusion. “Looks like the situation is getting more dangerous in every passing second.” He thought for a few seconds then turned to the officer. “Send four aircrafts after that tank and tell them to deal with it directly.”

“You mean-“

“Yes, I want them to blast it with its crew. Without warning.”

***

“Three tanks behind us, guys.”

Dean reported in worry as he drove the tank towards another group of trees up ahead. Tony and Sydney turned towards the three tanks.

“They are driving it expertly.” Tony murmured while furrowing his brows. “And no doubt their leaders made their calls and closed off all the routs in our faces, and we only have two grenades and one machine gun inside the tank.”

“And the other two balls.” Sydney added while pulling them out.

“What your balls are going to do now? Are they going to release a fire breathing dragon or a volcano?” Dean called in frustration.

Sydney just smiled, taking one of the balls then putting the silver one back in her pocket. “You’ll see.”

Then she threw it towards the tanks.

***

The ball darted towards the first tanks, and was getting bigger until it was the size of a soccer ball.

They shot at the ball heavily.

Then it exploded.

Releasing a huge ball of fire, which darted towards the three tanks while getting bigger and bigger, until it became the size of a two story house, in a sight that shook the crew of the three tanks and they screamed in terror.

The fire ball consumed them mercilessly.

And three explosions sounded inside the fire ball that changed into a huge black cloud of smoke, leaving the remains of the tanks behind.

***

“Your dad made that?!” Tony exclaimed with wide eyes after he watched the scene.

Sydney just nodded with a small, proud but sad smile.

“This is fucking genius! I already like him!”

“He likes you too.” she murmured quietly and sadly to herself as she felt a bang of longing and sadness inside her.

“What does the silver one do?” Tony asked, eyes lightened up curiously.

Before Sydney could answer Dean interjected.

“We have an attack coming from the air, guys!”

***

“From the fleet to the base, we have eyes on the target.” The captain of the four planes called through the radio. “We need a confirmation on shooting it directly.”

“Do it.” The colonel’s voice came sternly.

“Roger that.”

He gestured to his three partners, and they all descended on the tank, that was darting with high speed towards the group of trees.

“Fire in 5…4…3…2…1..0”

They all fired at once, their bullets hit the tank in different places, and then they threw their grenades at the same time.

The tank exploded violently.

The explosion crushed the tank completely.

 

  

 


	15. Chapter 15

Two days had passed in the present.

Two restless days. No one slept. Unable to sleep or even relax.

Charlie was called to come and help. She didn’t hesitate or let her sadness and grief stop her from coming right away.

So, now Charlie, Natasha, Sam and Bruce were studying all the files and archives of the ship in JARVIS’ system. Clint and Thor disappeared a while ago, saying something about getting help. Meanwhile, Castiel sat still on the armchair, trying as hard as he could to keep himself from sinking into the grief and emptiness spreading inside him, threatening to consume him completely. He kept reminding himself that Dean wasn’t dead. And he was currently fighting his way to come back to him. He had to believe that.

“Hey, I found this map but I couldn’t really understand what it is.” Charlie broke the silence suddenly, looking over at her partners.

“Can we see it?” Natasha asked as they gathered around her.

Charlie nodded, then pressed a few buttons and the map appeared.

It was a large white map, filled with black holes, also there were red lines connecting each hole with the other. Next to every hole, there were numbers and symbols, like they were describing each hole.

“That looks like the description Sydney said about the Nil Zone.” Castiel commented, his voice sound flat and empty even to his own ears. He could already feel Nat and Sam’s concerned looks trained on his face but he ignored it.

“Yeah, you are right.” Bruce agreed as he looked at the map in concentration. “But what does these symbols and numbers means?”

“Maybe directions or the time order of each hole in an attempt to understand its nature.” Came an unfamiliar female voice from the doorway.

They all turned towards the owner of the voice. At the doorway, Thor and Clint stood, between them there was a brunette woman smiling at them bashfully.

“Sorry, shouldn’t have barged in like that and talk without warning, I couldn’t help it.” She apologized with a small smile. “Thor and Clint told me about what is happening here and I came to help.”

“Thank you, Jane. We will appreciate your help.” Bruce smiled at her kindly.

Her eyes settled on Castiel and made her way towards him.

“You must be Castiel.” she held out her hand to shake his with a friendly smile. “I’m Jane Foster. Thor told me about you a lot I feel like I already know you guys. I’m sorry we met in such a mess.”  

“It was nice to meet you.” he shook her hand but didn’t smile. Didn’t really bothered to try.

She gave him a sad smile before making her way towards the others to check out the time map.

Castiel looked around the room, and just then realized that Steve was missing.

While everyone was too busy to study the map and the other things they found, he made his way out of the room to look for the missing Super Soldier.

It didn’t take him long to find him, since he followed his presence, and like Castiel suspected, he didn’t find him in his and Tony’s room.

He found him in an empty hallway that one wall of it was a floor to ceiling windows that looked over the city, Steve was sitting on the floor, resting his back against the wall as he hugged his legs to his chest and was staring blankly at the windows, tears falling slowly from his eyes.

Castiel was torn between going to him or leaving him be. But he knew for some reason that it wasn’t wise to leave Steve alone right now. They both feel lonely enough.

He made his way to him quietly and sat down next to him in the same position.

They sat quietly for what felt like hours, just staring at the city. Then, when it started to snow, he felt the shiver that ran through Steve’s body even with the warmth of the hallway, and hugged his legs even closer while looking away from the window.

Castiel stared at him for a few seconds, trying to find a way to start talking without spooking him.

“I don’t like the dark.” Castiel started, returning his gaze back to the window, watching the snow. He could feel Steve turning his eyes to him, waiting for him to continue. “I don’t like the stillness. The absolute darkness. Being in a dark, still place on my own.” He looked down then as he felt the emptiness filled him. “I don’t like being alone anymore.” He admitted quietly, feeling Steve staring at him intently. “It reminds me of the Empty. The place where angels go when they die. I’ve been there way too many times. Every time, something wakes me up there, and I fight my way back here. To-to him.” it was too painful to say Dean’s name right now. “But it gave me nightmares sometimes. What if I the next time I die, I won’t wake up anymore there. What if I did wake up and failed to find my way back. Spent eternity in complete darkness and emptiness, alone. No way to see him or even hear him.” he then looked at Steve intently then. “He- Dean helps me through it. He understands it. Sometimes it gets too much to sleep in the dark and he’d let some lights on for me. He thinks that I don’t notice, but I know he does everything in his power to not let me feel alone at any moment.” Castiel’s hand came up to close around the locket around his neck. Dean’s last gift to him. “I am not embarrassed to say that my existence revolves around Dean. Everything I do or say, concerns him one way or another. Without him, I am lost. Empty. Maybe useless even. And I have no idea what I am supposed to do.”

Steve looked at him sadly, with a completely understanding look in his eyes.

“How- how does your bond feel? And what do you feel when you lose each other?” Steve asked carefully in a soft, defeated voice.

Steve Rogers should never sound defeated. It was wrong and completely out of place.

“Our bond is like this warm presence you feel inside. Here.” Castiel explained while gesturing to his own chest. “Something constantly pulsing through you. Reassuring. A proof that you are not alone. That someone is waiting for you, also feeling your presence like you feel his. Sometimes we feel our distress, our joy. The love. And when-“ he stopped to take a deep breath. “And when we lose each other, it is like all the warmth, your soul and your heart ripped out brutally from inside you. Only leaving the remains of what you used to be. That is what I am feeling from the moment the ship disappeared in the sky.”

 Steve looked at him with wide eyes, then looked down at his wedding ring, rolling it in his fingers sadly.

“The ring is too still.” Steve murmured softly. Caressing the ring sadly. “T-Tony made our rings. They are connected to our pulses. Tony feels my heartbeat and I feel his. He made them because he knew that I feel relaxed when I hear his heartbeat. It ground me when it became too much. It reassures me that I am not alone. But the ring went still the moment he was gone and I just- I can’t-“ he stopped as a few tears fell from his eyes and tried to focus on his breathing. “I hate the cold. I-I hate the winter. Every terrible thing that ever happened to me, happened in winter. Everything. And I can’t handle the cold since- since the ice. Tony knows. For the past years since I woke up, I didn’t suffer through any winter on my own. Tony was always there. Even when we were just friends, he still never let me deal with it on my own. Never judged me for it. Never told me to man up and handle it. He is just there. Always there. But now-“ he covered his face in his hands and took a few deep breaths. “I know I should be strong for the team. They are also suffering from all of this. I am trying but I am trying to deal with both the cold and his absence. And I can’t. It is too much. He is not here. Might never be able to come back. The ring is too still. And I feel like when I first woke up again. Alone. Cold. And confused. And I just can’t.”

They sat in silence for a while. Both trying to deal. Both were trying to remain hopeful.

“We’re not alone, Steve.” Castiel eventually, managed to gather his strength and looked at Steve straight in the eye. “We’re a family. We’re not alone. We’ll find a way to bring them back. And you know how stubborn they are. They will fight their way to come back.”

“I know.” Steve whispered sadly. “What I am scared about is how long it will take them and-“ he took a deep breath. “And if they would survive it.”

 

     

 


	16. Chapter 16

The sun was starting to set behind the trees and fields at the edge of Paris. The Nazi flag flattered over the base, when a military black car, with the emblem of the Gestapo on it, stopped in front of the main building.

A man got out of the car when it stopped, he was blond, with blue, cold eyes. Colonel Eberhard looked at him from behind the glass of his window from his office.

“This is what I was afraid of.” He muttered nervously to his assistant. “We reported to the Gestapo what happened, and they sent us one of their worst demons.”

His assistant gazed at the man in question as he made his way towards the building with wide, strong steps.

“Do you know him personally, sir?” he asked the colonel nervously.

“Who doesn’t?” Eberhard sighed. “He is Carl Mannheim, Also known as, the Butcher. One of the most dangerous and vicious officers in the Gestapo. He just came back from the Soviet front, which he had been transported to for a whole month, because of a small mistake he made while chasing down some men from the French Resistance. And the days he spent there must have doubled his viciousness and hatred that the devil himself would be jealous.”

“Oh, God.” His assistant muttered in terror.

The colonel straightened up and fixed his cap and military clothes and made his way towards the door.

“Don’t lose your nerves while the Butcher is here. You will need them.”

The door opened before he could reach it, revealing Carl Mannheim, his ice cold eyes trained on the colonel.

“I thought I will find you waiting for me, Colonel.” He said coldly.

The colonel raised his arm immediately and called loudly “Hail Hitler!”

Carl copied him and repeated the greeting, then lowered his arm and looked at him with the same coldness.

“I still insist on the fact that I should have found you waiting for me downstairs.”

“I was about to get down to receive you and-“

“Whatever.” Carl interrupted him firmly. “Tell me what happened here because the story I was told was hard to believe.”

“Mine won’t be much different, sir.” Then he explained everything that had happened.

The strange aircraft that appeared suddenly out of nowhere.

The three spies that appeared in the area after the disappearance of the aircraft.

The strange weapons the spies used.

Their escape with the tank.

And finally, the explosion of the said tank.

“But we didn’t find any bodies inside the destroyed tank.” He finished his story with this.

“What do you mean you didn’t find any bodies?” Carl glared at him angrily. “Did they burned out completely, not even leaving a bone?”

“You know this is impossible, sir. Even huge explosions can’t destroy the human body completely. Remains must always be found. But in our case, we found nothing.”

“Where are the spies then?!”

“We don’t know. We thought after the destruction of the tank that they were dead, which made us stop all the search party. But when we were able to get close enough to the tank, after its remains burned out, that we were shocked to find it completely empty. Not even-“

“Because they had jumped from it before the planes reached them and they left your stupid pilots to chase down an empty tank and shower it with bullets that are more expensive than their brains!”

“Sir, our pilots are-“

“Shut up.” The rank difference between them shouldn’t have allowed Carl to talk to him like that, but with the benefits of the Gestapo, he was forced to snap his mouth shut in silent anger. “You shouldn’t have stopped the search parties.”

“This is what normally happens when-“

“I said shut up! Let me think.” His brow furrowed as he paced inside the room angrily. “When did you stop the search?”

“Three hours ago.”

“Three hours?! How stupid!” then he thought for a few seconds then looked up at him. “Where is the map of this area?”

Eberhard turned towards his assistant. “Bring map of Paris and-“

“I know the map of Paris like I know the back of my hand. I said a map for this area.”

The colonel swallowed his anger. “Alright. You heard what he said.”

A minute later, Carl was unfolding the map in front of him and checking it with deep concentration.

“Exactly like I expected. There is no other place they could go.” Then he folded the map again. “All the routes passes on patrols or bases. The only route they could have gone through is the one to Paris.”

“You think they had gone there?”

“This is the only place they could have reached in three hours.”

The colonel hesitated before asking. “Do you think they are from the allies, sir?”

Carl was silent as he processed this.

“It would be a disaster if they are.” He answered in frustration. “But what is happening right now reminds me of something similar happened in Paris a month ago. If there is a connection between this and that, then there is someone we must tell about what is happening.”

“Who?”

“The director of the German Intelligence.” Then he straightened up firmly. “General Friedrich Holdstein.”

***

“Tony, do you know where are we going exactly?”

Dean asked in frustration as he walked with Tony and Sydney through the streets of Paris which filled with the Nazis flags over all its buildings and German soldiers were filling the streets everywhere.

Tony just turned towards him and gripped his and Sydney’s arms and fastened his steps.

“To the only safe place we can go to right now.” he answered as he looked around in concentration.

“From what I can see, there is no safe place for us.” Sydney murmured while glancing around in worry.

“There is.” Tony insisted sternly. “But it is not on Earth’s surface.”

“What do you mean?” Dean asked in confusion while still being dragged by Tony.

Then a voice called from behind them, speaking in German: “You there!”

A cold shiver ran through Dean’s body: “They found us!”

“Ignore him.” Tony said firmly while speeding up his walking. “Pretend we don’t speak German. Keep walking until we reach the subway’s entrance. We need to go there.”

“Are we going to take the subway to escape?” Dean asked in frustration.

Before Tony could answer, the voice called again, in French this time: “You there. Stop.”

“Looks like we have no other choice.” Sydney sighed.

There were two German soldiers darting towards them with their machine guns, so they had to stop and face the man in the civilian clothes that called out to them.

“Why did you refuse to stop?” he asked in anger.

“We didn’t refuse.” Tony rushed to say. “But we don’t understand German.”

He scanned their faces in suspicion. “Do you have your identification papers?” They exchanged nervous looks that made the officer pierce his lips. “Ah, I get it. You don’t have identification papers or walking permits.”

“But we have a very logical explanation for this.” Sydney said with a sweet smile.

“Then say it.”

Suddenly, Dean moved to kick one of the two soldiers in his gut.

“This!” Dean exclaimed then punched the soldier’s face so hard he was thrown three meters away.

Then, Sydney jumped in the air and kicked the second Soldier in the jaw, two times in the row, that it threw him to the ground unconscious.

The officer pulled out a gun and pointed it at Tony’s face angrily. “Dammit! You are-“

Before he could finish, Tony darted forward and grabbed his wrist to move the gun away then punched him in the face so hard he threw him to the ground.

Obviously, that caught all the other soldiers’ attention, which caused chaos around them.

“To the subway!” Tony exclaimed to them.

“I don’t know why you want us to go there but I will follow you.”  Dean stated while snatching one of the machine guns.

The three of them ran towards the subway’s entrance, the German soldiers hot on their heels, their bullets sounding in the middle of the screams of the passersby, who were running around to save themselves and Dean felt the bullets hit the ground around him.

“God, guys, we just opened the gates of hell on us.” He exclaimed anxiously.

“If we reached the subway all of this will end!” Tony called back.

“I hope so.” Sydney muttered.

Just when she said this, a bullet pierced her thigh, she screamed in pain as she lost her balance and fell to the ground.

“Syd! No!” Dean shouted in panic, then he turned around and fired his machine gun at the Germans. “You Bastards!”

His bullets hit someone, but that didn’t stop the others from firing at them viciously.

“Fall back, Dean! Hurry!” Tony yelled while leaning down to help Sydney up. “Go towards the subway!”

“Leave me, Tony! Just please, leave me!” Sydney begged him desperately.

“Shut up and move!” Tony yelled at her firmly.

Dean was retreating slowly while still firing back at the Germans. A bullet pierced his left arm and blood started to fall.

“Fuck! Fuck!” he muttered in pain but never stopped firing.

Tony reached the subway entrance with Sydney and turned towards Dean. “Come on, Dean! Hurry!”

“What do you think I am trying to do?!” Dean yelled while firing. After his bullets took down another two soldiers, he turned around and ran as fast as he could towards the entrance.

“Come on, Dean! You can do it, come on!” Tony called anxiously to him.

Dean ran with every strength in his body, while from behind, the German’s bullets were raining on him.

Then a bullet pierced Dean’s back that pushed him forward with a sharp, pained gasp before he fell to the ground.

“Dean! No! No!” Tony screamed in panicked terror while Sydney’s eyes widened in horror.

Dean tried to get up again while leaning on his gun.

“They got me.” He breathed out in pain, then raised his eyes towards Tony and shouted: “Run Tony! Just run! Take her and go!” two soldiers reached him then. “I am sorry, Cas.” he muttered bitterly before turning around to face them but one of them hit him hard in the head with the heel of his gun.

Dean fell to the ground, unconscious, blood falling heavily from his head.

***

“Dean! God, no, no Dean.” Tony exclaimed with all the panic, anguish and pain that he felt running through him. Then he made himself move inside the tunnel of the subway while dragging Sydney even though every fiber in his being was telling him to rush outside to Dean.

“No! No, we can’t leave him behind! We can’t!” Sydney struggled in his grip as she screamed in panic, but Tony kept dragging her.

“We-we can’t save him.” he felt tears falling heavily from his eyes as he felt physical pain spreading through him and his heart being ripped out of his chest.

“You don’t understand! We can’t! Tony, we can’t!” Sydney was getting more distressed every passing second but Tony tried to push his grief and pain to the back of his head so they can escape.

They heard the footsteps of the Germans behind them.

“There is no way to go.” Sydney said bitterly.

Tony didn’t answer and just dragged her towards the lane of the subway itself, and jumped down then helped her down.

“Do you know where are we going?”

“Yes.”

They walked through the subway’s lane which they heard it coming through the tunnel.

“If we didn’t reach where we are going in one minute, the subway will crush us.” She said looking strangely okay with that prospect. Like she didn’t care if she lived anymore.

“We will reach it.” He said, trying to keep his emotions at bay and tried to remember all the history books he read.

The subway was getting closer and closer as they walked by the wall as fast as they could.

Until they finally found a metal door, sunken through the wall.

“Here it is.” Tony muttered in relief.

The subway appeared in the horizon.

“It is getting closer, Tony. Hurry.”

He pushed the door with all his strength.

But it didn’t open.

It was locked from the inside.

“Shit, it is locked!” Tony’s face paled in horror.

The subway now was only a few meters away from them.

“Well,” Sydney murmured sadly. “I guess we are following Dean sooner than I thought.”

 

                                                                                                       


	17. Chapter 17

Sam rubbed his eyes tiredly but didn’t look away from the screen nonetheless.

He didn’t sleep since the ship disappeared. Which was three days ago.

He couldn’t allow himself to relax until he finds a way to bring his brother and Tony back.

He could feel Natasha’s worried looks on him every few seconds and the occasional disapproving frown from Castiel when he handed him a new cup of coffee every two hours.

Jane Foster was being a great help. She was so absorbed with Clint and Natasha in studying the ship’s files and wasn’t planning to relax until she find something.

“Oh, God!” came Charlie’s sudden panicked gasp that made all of them jump and look at her in worry.

“What? What happened?” Steve questioned coming towards here in concern.

She took a few deep calming breaths before she could answer.

“I-I fed the computer with Tony and Dean’s pictures to search through the journalistic bibliography through all history, for any information about them that reached the news in whatever era they were in.” she explained, hands shaking a little.

“Did you find anything from that?” Natasha asked when she came towards her with the others.

“I found one picture. And it freaked me out.” She said looking carefully at Sam and Castiel.

“What picture?” Clint asked impatiently.

She clicked on something, then on the screen, appeared a page from an old French newspaper that was dated during WWII and Charlie pointed at a picture on the left side of the page.

“This one.” Then the screen zoomed in on the picture so it was now filling it completely, and Charlie’s voice shook a little. “Dean’s picture.”

They all froze as they stared with wide, horrified eyes at the picture, that showed Dean unconscious on a hospital bed, next to him stood a German General. Under the picture, it was written that one of the leaders of the French resistance was caught by the Germans who ordered his-

-Execution.

“Holy shit! That fucking ship took them to France during WWII!” Clint cried in horror as he stared at the picture.

“Execution?!” Sam gasped sharply and took a step back as he felt himself panicking, his breath was coming in harsh gasps, and his whole body was shaking in panic. He was aware of Natasha gripping his shoulders and shaking him in attempt to bring him back and Bruce’s calming voice talking to him.

But he couldn’t calm down. His brother was caught by the Nazis and they were going to (Or already did) execute him.

Meanwhile, Castiel stood stock still as he stared at the picture, unable to look away from it. All his emotions were harshly frozen. He felt Steve’s hand on his shoulder and Steve’s worried eyes glancing at him.

“Did you follow that report? Did they-“ Steve asked, unable to finish his sentence.

“Yes, I looked at all the next issues of the newspaper but they never mentioned it again. Even the German newspapers at that time never mentioned that report. Like they didn’t care about the execution of one of the leaders of the French Resistance in any way.”

“Maybe that means that they failed to execute him?” Thor asked hopefully.

“Or nobody cared about his execution.” Charlie murmured bitterly.

Castiel’s eyes moved towards the General’s face who was standing next to Dean in the picture, and stared at him intently.

“Can you enlarge the General’s face?” Castiel asked Charlie in a strangely calm voice.

Charlie complied and started to press a few buttons then the General’s face filled the screen.

Castiel’s eyes widened in pure terror and flinched back violently like he was slapped harshly, making everyone in the room look at him in confusion.

“Oh, no.” he breathed out, looking on the verge of pure panic. “This can’t be happening. No.”

He should’ve known that his past will caught up with him. He should have prepared himself for that. He shouldn’t have thought that his past won’t come and punch him harshly in his face.

He should have known that his happiness was short lived.

He was aware that he was probably full on panicking, if the voices calling for him was anything to go by. Then he felt two strong hands gripping his shoulders tightly and pulling him back to the present to find Steve’s eyes looking at him with concern as he gripped his shoulders, while everyone was surrounding him and looking at him in worry.

“Cas? What’s gotten into you? Do you know this man?” Steve asked looking at him intently.

Castiel trailed his eyes around the room, trying to calm himself long enough to answer.

“I don’t just know him.” Castiel muttered, staring back at Steve, looking defeated. “I faced him before.”

“What?” Sam was looking at him in shock.

“If they are facing that man.” Castiel continued, looking dazed. “Then they are in grave danger. They might not survive it.”

***

The subway was coming towards them with its full speed and there was no place for them to take cover.

When suddenly, the metal door opened and a strong hand appeared then gripped the both of them inside harshly and closing the door behind them.

When the subway’s noise died out as it reached its station that was filled with angry German soldiers, the owner of the hand turned on a large flashlight on their faces and pointed at them a machine gun.

“Who are you? And why did you do what you did?” he asked harshly in French.

“You mean why we entered the subway’s tunnel?” Sydney asked nervously.

“No, I mean what you just did with the Germans.”

Tony and Sydney shared a quick look before the former answered: “We didn’t have papers.”

“Why?”

“That’s what happened.”

“What do you mean by that? Everyone have identification papers. Even us!”

Tony was getting nervous as he tried to remember everything Steve told him about this era and was trying to not think about what just happened outside.

“Where can we find Alain and Brigitte?” he asked bluntly, making the man tense and furrow his brow without answering but he continued: “You are from the French Resistance, right?”

The man leaned towards him and poked him in the chest with his gun.

“Who are you? And how do you know Alain and Brigitte? Say the truth!”

“If I told you the truth, you won’t believe a single word. All you need to know right now is that I am not a spy and I mean no harm in any way.”

The man stared at him for a while then turned his eyes towards Sydney.

“And you?” he asked harshly.

“Same as him.” she answered with a shrug.

He trailed his eyes between them for a second.

“There is only one way to settle this.” he decided while looking at them sharply, then he locked the metal door from inside and pushed them in front of him harshly. “For you to face Brigitte herself.”

The three of them walked through a very complicated net of tunnels and corridors that indicated that their guide knew his way completely.

“Do you really know this Brigitte?” Sydney whispered in his ear carefully.

“Well, no.” he admitted nervously. “I heard a lot about her though.”

“From who?”

“Steve made an alliance with the French resistance. They helped each other a lot and he was a very good friend to the resistance’s two leaders and he told me everything about them and about the resistance.”

“What, are you going to try and claim that you are friends with Captain America in this era and you expect them to believe you?!”

“We’ll see, just follow my lead, okay?”

They were silent for the rest of the walk, which unfortunately, led his mind to be very aware of the absence of a certain Winchester. Immediately, his heart ached with unbearable pain. He just lost Dean. He lost his best friend. One of his family. The only one connecting him to his home. With Dean gone, an unbearable feeling of loneliness filled him completely. He was alone, seventy years or more away from home. Sure, Sydney was here, but he didn’t really know her. He was barley holding up when Dean was with him. He felt a little comfort when the oldest Winchester was by his side. He certainly knew more than Tony how to handle situations like these.  But now? He was terrified, alone and have no idea what to do.

God, what is he going to tell Castiel and Sam if he ever managed to return home? That he left his best friend to die at the hands of the Nazis?

“We’re here.” The man said sharply, cutting Tony’s thoughts.

He looked up and saw a light at the end of the tunnel, as they got closer, the light got clearer until they reached a large room, filled with a number of men and women that looked at them with nervousness.

Then a woman came forward to stand before them. She was a pretty blond with blue eyes. The type Tony would have gone after before. But he was a happily married man now to a blond, gorgeous, blue-eyes beauty. So, he wasn’t affected by the woman in the slightest.

“Who are they?” she asked their guide firmly.

“They are the ones that fought the Germans outside.” he answered in obvious respect. “They were trying to escape through the subway, like they knew where they were going.”

“So you brought them here?!”

“If they are spies we can just kill them right her-“

“You must be Brigitte.” Tony interjected suddenly.

The woman looked at him sharply.

“Do you know me?” she snapped harshly.

“He said he knew you and Alain and-“ the man tried to explain but she stopped him with a wave of her hand.

“Tell me: do you know me?” she asked again with a sharp glare.

“No, not personally. But I know a lot about you from a-a friend of mine.”

“And who is that friend.”

“Captain America.”

“Oh! So you are trying to tell me that you are friends with Captain America and he told you everything about me?”

“Yes, I-“

“Enough!” she cut him off angrily. “Your silly attempt at lying exposed you. You are spies!”

Tony frowned nervously while Sydney just sighed.

“I knew they wouldn’t believe that.” She muttered blankly.

Brigitte glared at her then turned towards their guide.

“Bernard! Kill them!”

Without hesitation, he raised his machine gun towards their faces.

***

The moment General Friedrich Holdstein’s car stopped in front of that small hospital in the heart of Paris, tension and urgency filled the place as his soldiers spread out everywhere to secure the place, not caring about the patients around them.

In firm calmness, the general got out of his car and trailed his eyes around the place with sharp eyes before entering the hospital.

He was a tall, strong man with sharp, cold blue eyes. His steps were long and strong, indicating his strong personality and high confidence, as he made his way towards a room at the end of the corridor, which was guarded by three soldiers who immediately straightened up the moment they laid eyes on the general and raised their arms together shouting “Hail Hitler.” In greeting.

The general ignored them completely while he pushed open the door and entered the room.

Carl Mannheim turned towards him inside the room and greeted him the same way.

“I hope whatever this is was, worth me coming here, Carl.” He said harshly. “I will be sad to send you off to the Soviet front again after I just brought you back from there.”

“I am confident that you will not regret bringing me back to Paris, sir.” Carl stated strongly.

The general looked at him coldly for a few seconds.

“So it is worth it, then.”

“Of course!” then he pointed at Dean who was unconscious on the bed. “That man is from three people who engaged with our men an hour ago when they asked them for their identification papers.”

“I don’t think you called me here for this.” Holdstein said while taking off his gloves.

“Of course not, sir. Such thing doesn’t matter to us in anyway and definitely won’t led us to take the injured man to the hospital immediately to do a surgery on him to save his life.” Then he straightened up firmly. “But this man is definitely not ordinary.”

“Why?”

“I will tell you the whole story, sir.” For a whole fifteen minutes, Carl told the story from the moment the ship appeared in the sky, till the fight in the street that ended with Tony and Sydney’s escape and Dean’s fall. “We could have never linked the two men and woman with the ones that fought with the search party in the street if not for one thing.”

The general glanced at Dean curiously before asking: “And what is that?”

Carl pointed at Dean’s wrist: “His watch.”

“His watch?!” the general repeated as he glanced at it in confusion.

“Yes, sir. We tried to remove it from his wrist but it electrified anyone who tried. Take a look at it, sir. And tell me if you ever saw something like this.”

 Holdstein gripped Dean’s wrist and raised it up to look at the watch, he furrowed his eyebrows as he saw the very advanced and complicated looking watch.

“What the hell is this thing?” he muttered in confusion.

It was impossible to see something like this in this era.

But somehow it felt familiar to Holdstein. Like it triggered something deep in his mind.

 A series of images passed quickly through his mind. Images from another eras. Different times. Huge black wings. All merged together in his brain in a way that confused him.

“What is this thing?” he repeated again in frustration.

Just then, Dean started to groan and rambled a few words in his sleep.

  The words included a name.

The name of the last person he thought about before he lost his consciousness.

_Castiel._

The moment the name pierced Holdstein ears, his body jerked violently and his eyes widened.

And in his mind, a bomb exploded.

A bomb of events and memories exploded suddenly from a dark spot in his brain. It affected his entire being.

The explosion in his brain made him jerk again and swear loudly.

“Did- did I do something wrong, sir?” Carl hesitated as he looked at him.

Holdstein turned towards him sharply, his eyes brightening in a scary way as he stared at him like he was seeing him for the very first time.

After a long moment of silence he finally started to regain his bearings again.

“Not at all, Carl.” He answered in excitement then turned back towards Dean. “Give this man all the medical care you can provide. I want him back to his feet as soon as possible.” then his voice turned firm and sharp. “And when he wakes up, I want to interrogate him myself.” His eyes were terrifying as he turned towards Carl. “Myself, Carl!”

Carl shivered as he stared at the general. “Yes, sir.”

He shivered again as he looked at the general’s eyes. he felt like he was staring at the devil himself.

 

 

     


	18. Chapter 18

“Wait!”

Sydney shouted while turning around grapping Bernard’s gun and raising it up and away.

The bullets rang through the tunnels as they pierced through the ceiling.

Everyone jumped to their machine guns while Brigitte shouted: “Treason! Kill them now!”

“Seriously just stop and think for a second!” Tony also yelled while raising his hands in a calming gesture. “Why do you insist on killing us without listening to us first?! Where is your co-leader Alain? Maybe he will listen to us better.”

“Don’t listen to the spy! Shoot them!”

“Stop!”

Came the stern shout from somewhere, making everyone froze, while a dark haired man made his way towards them.

 “What is going on here?” The man demanded firmly.

“God, please tell me you are Alain.” Tony exclaimed looking at him hopefully.

“Who are you?” Alain turned towards him sharply.

“See? Alain himself doesn’t know who the hell they are.” Brigitte yelled.

“Do you think you will defeat the Germans in that erratic, hostile way that refuses to stop and listen to reason for a second?” Sydney yelled in frustration. “What will you lose if you listened to us for one minute? We are between your hands and you can kill us whenever you want. So just listen to us and think about what we will say then kill us if you think we are lying or working for the Nazis.”

Everyone in the room went silent as they stared at them, Then Alain shrugged. “I am convinced.” When Brigitte was about to protest, he cut her off with a look then turned his eyes back to Tony. “Talk. How did you know about our hideout?”

“I know it because Captain America told me where you hide.” Tony answered tiredly, already exhausted from all the pressure and tension around him.

“Why would he do that?”

“Because we are… friends.”

“So you are telling me you are friends with Captain America? Even though he never mentioned you?”

“Well, I am not friends with the now Captain. I am friends with the future one.” He was too tired to care how crazy he sounds right now, he really was willing to let them just kill him.

 Alain furrowed his brow in confused frustration while Brigitte glared at him. “What does that supposed to mean?”

“It means that we are not from now, okay? We are not from your fucking time!” Tony pretty much yelled, when he felt Sydney squeezing his arm in warning he turned to glare at her and removing his arm from her grip.

“What, you are saying you are from the future or something?”

“Yup. Pretty much.”

“God, you are terrible at keeping secrets.” Sydney muttered under her breath making Tony glare at her again.

When Brigitte made a move towards them, Alain stopped her and got closer to Tony when he noticed something around his neck when he turned.

Tony watched silently as Alain tugged at the dog tags around his neck and pulled them from under his shirt to inspect them carefully.

After a few tense seconds, Alain raised wide, confused eyes towards him.

“These are Captain America’s dog tags.” He announced while staring at Tony.

“He gave them to me.” Tony murmured while staring at the dog tags with aching heart. He never removed them from around his neck since Steve gave them to him. They make him feel comforted when Steve wasn’t around.

 “That’s impossible, since the last time I saw him, he had them around his neck.”

“I told you. We are not from here. Future Cap gave them to me.”

Alain growled in frustration then turned towards Bernard sharply. “Search him!”

He let Bernard search him, too tired to even argue with him.

Bernard only found Tony’s wallet in his pocket and handed it to Alain.

Tony watched as Alain searched through the contents of his wallet until he found the two pictures he secretly had them inside.

A picture of a selfie he personally took of him, Steve, Dean and Castiel. They were on one of their weekly double dates, for some unknown reason, he pulled out his phone and took a selfie of them. Steve was grinning like the lovesick puppy he was at Tony, Castiel was smiling a confused smile at Dean who was laughing about something he couldn’t remember. Tony himself was grinning with real happiness, even if he was the only one looking at the camera then.

The second one was a picture of the whole team taken on Christmas day. Steve insisted they all wear ugly, Christmas sweaters for the hell of it, and the result was horrendous. They decided to take a family picture together in those horrible sweaters. They were all laughing and smiling happily, while Tony and Dean were smirking at each other while arguing which one of them was wearing the ugliest sweater. 

He loved those two pictures so much that he printed them and kept them in his wallet to always remind himself that he finally has a family. A family that he loved and love him back.

But all of that was gone. His family was seventy years away and he lost his best friend right in front of his eyes. The best friend that he couldn’t imagine a day without any more even if they’d spent most of their time bickering like preschoolers.

He watched miserably as Alain and Brigitte trailed their eyes on the two pictures carefully, eyes widening a little when they saw Steve in both of them, but then he was confused to see them froze as their eyes landed on someone else in the pictures.

They exchanged a wide eyed look before looking back at him. Alain turned the first picture towards him and Tony was surprised and confused to see him pointing at Castiel.

“Your life depends on the answer of the question I am about to ask you.” Alain started firmly but Tony could hear a tremor in his voice. “Tell me this man’s name.”

“What?” Tony asked in confusion and glanced at Sydney who looked equally perplexed, then back at Alain. “Why-“

“Just answer the question.” Brigitte growled harshly.

He trailed his eyes on their faces in confusion then sighed. “His name is Castiel, alright?”

 “And what is he?” Alain prompted with wide, frantic eyes.

“What-“

“What is he?! Answer!”

Tony was getting nervous by their strange questions and didn’t know if he should answer or not, but he sensed they will probably kill him if he didn’t.

“Uhm. He is an…Angel.” He answered slowly waiting for them to shoot him.

But instead he saw everyone in the room froze and stare at him with wide eyes.

“He knows the angel Castiel!” Someone shouted excitedly then the room bursts with whispers and Tony heard Castiel’s name being repeated several times.

“How do you know Castiel?” Brigitte asked him with awe evident in her voice.

“Uhm. He is family.” He answered in bewilderment as he got more confused in every passing second.

“Oh my God, really?” Brigitte was grinning at him excitedly. “So, you are from the future! You are from Castiel’s time! Guys! He is from Castiel’s time!”

 He heard the excited shouts from around the room and Tony shared a very bewildered look with Sydney.

“Wait, wait. Hold up!” Sydney exclaimed, making Alain and Brigitte turn towards her. “How do you know Castiel?”

“We met a month ago.” Brigitte answered excitedly. “We helped him and he helped us! He gave us hope again.”

“That’s impossible.” Tony shook his head firmly. “Cas can’t travel in time anymore, and since I live with him in the same place, I am pretty sure I’d have noticed if he decided to take a trip back to the forties a month ago.”

“That happened years ago, Tony.” Sydney explained, still looking bewildered though. “Dean said that Cas came here years ago on a mission. For them it must have been only a month ago but to us it was years ago.”

Tony seriously couldn’t believe what was happening. Castiel managed to save their lives even when he was seventy years away.

_And Tony thanked him by letting his husband die by the Nazis._

He felt dread fills him again and his heart breaking all over again at the thought.

“What are you guys doing here?” Alain asked curiously, everyone in the room lowered their guns as they looked at them with awe. “Did Castiel sent you? Is he here?”

“No, Castiel isn’t here.” Sydney answered with a friendly smile. “We came here by accident. I am Sydney and this is Tony and… and our friend who-who died out there was Dean.” Sydney’s voice lowered miserably at the last sentence while Tony felt dizzy at the D-word.

“Did you just say Dean?” Brigitte asked with wide eyes. “Castiel told us a lot about him! He sounded like he really cares for him.”

“He isn’t dead.” Bernard interjected suddenly.

Tony and Sydney turned towards him with hopeful eyes. “Really?!”

“That’s right. He didn’t die.” Alain confirmed. “I don’t know why the German’s cared for his life, but they transferred him to a hospital and they are doing a surgery on him to remove the bullets from his body.” Then he stopped for a second before continuing: “And Castiel’s enemy came to see him.”

“Castiel’s enemy?” Tony asked carefully.

“Yes, the enemy Castiel came here for. General Friedrich Holdstein.”

Tony and Sydney exchanged a nervous look.

“Why would Castiel’s enemy go to see Dean?” Tony asked in concern. “He never saw him in his life before.”

“True, but he is too smart for his own good. Even with what Castiel did to him, he might figure out that your friend is related to Castiel somehow.” Alain took a deep breath before adding: “And if he did, then your lives will be a living hell here.”

 

 

 

 


	19. Chapter 19

They were all sitting around Castiel, who was sitting on the arm chair with his face in his hand, his other hand was pulled in a fist, like he was physically trying to keep himself from lashing out and go back in time to get Dean even if it kills him.

“Cas?” Steve called tentatively. “Can you please tell us what is going on? How do you know Friedrich Holdstein?”

Castiel raised his eyes slowly to look at Steve silently for a few seconds.

“Have you faced him before?” Castiel asked instead without answering Steve’s questions.

“No. I heard about him and how vicious and cruel he was. But I never faced him. I was too preoccupied with Hydra.” Steve answered carefully. “They called him the devil. He was the third most important man in Nazi Germany.”

“He wasn’t from your time and that isn’t his name.” Castiel stated looking a little dazed.

“What? What do you mean?” Natasha asked in confusion.

“His name is Arthur Williams. An American scientist. From the future.”

Everyone just stared at him, trying to comprehend what he was saying.

“Cas, please could you tell us the whole story? You are confusing us here.” Sam pleaded, looking at him nervously.

Castiel gazed at him and saw how worried everyone looked and sighed tiredly.

“A few months after I saved Dean from hell, Heaven sent me on another mission. Saying, to bring me back to my full focus and stay away from my current ‘distraction’ aka Dean for a while.” He started with a small scoff at Heaven’s way of thinking earning a few small chuckles from his audience. “There was an American, brilliant scientist called Arthur Williams. He was from the far future, as in a few hundred years in the future, his brilliance went to evil genius territory, became one of the worst, cruelest villains in the future and caused so much destruction and massacres in his time. He managed to steal a time ship and decided to travel through time to change it so he can rule the world and be worshipped in his time. Which was so dangerous that he caught Heaven’s attention. They assigned him to me. To stop him before he ruins history.”

“By stopping him, as in-“ Clint started and Castiel nodded.

“Yes. As in killing him since his existence became too dangerous.” His lips twisted in a frown as the memories came back to him. “I chased him around through history. In ancient Egypt, ancient Rome, Medieval ages and many more. Every time, he managed to escape me but I always managed to stop him from changing anything. However, he caused so much destruction that some things couldn’t be fixed. Until, I finally managed to stop him in France during WWII.”

“How did you do manage to stop him?” Steve asked looking at him intently.

“I got help. From the French Resistance.” Castiel sighed while tapping his fingers on the chair’s arm. A nervous gesture he caught from Dean. “He managed to make a high place for himself by being General Friedrich Holdstein, the Nazi devil. He caused so much death then, since he was from the future so he knew enough to make Hitler trust him. He actually almost changed the course of the war if I hadn’t stepped in with the help of the French Resistance, who happily helped me after they knew that I was an angel that came from the future to save them from the devil. Then, he was on his knees defeated in front of me and-“ he cut himself off with another sigh.

“You couldn’t do it.” Thor muttered with wide eyes. “You couldn’t kill him.”

“No, I couldn’t.” Castiel admitted, lowering his eyes. “When I was about to, all I thought about was that he was just a human. Even with all the destruction he caused. I couldn’t bring myself to do it. So, I just wiped his memories of being Arthur Williams and replaced them with ones about being only Friedrich Holdstein and left him there after destroying his time ship and claimed that he was dead.” He bit his lower lip harshly then. “But memories couldn’t be removed completely from the brain. It could be triggered if my name was uttered to him. Only the resistance knew my name then, and they made a promise to never mention my name again, so I never thought it will come hunt me again.” He looked up at them again. “According to the date of that newspaper, my face off with Arthur Williams was a month ago.”

“Dean is in his hands.” Bruce murmured with wide eyes. “If Dean uttered your name accidentally-“

“-Then all his memories would come back.” Natasha finished anxiously.

“And he is from the future. So, he must know who Dean and Tony are from history. He will knew that they came from the future.” Sam added, looking on the verge of panic. “He will try to find their time ship.”

“In conclusion, Dean, Tony and Sydney are in a horrible danger if that man regained his memories.” Castiel concluded grimly, noticing Steve’s sharp exhale. “And if he managed to take the ship, all history will be in danger. And I no longer have the power to chase him down and stop him again.”

“How screwed are they?” Steve asked anxiously. 

Castiel met his eyes dead on.

“Very.”

***

The old camera let out a flash inside the hospital room, where Dean laid unconscious, next to him stood Holdstien whose eyes lit up viciously.

“Perfect.” He said to the journalist who took his picture with Dean. “I want this picture in tomorrow’s paper with a report that said we captured one of the resistance’s leaders and we will execute him.”

“As you wish, sir.” The journalist nodded shakily. “We will post it in the front page and-“

“No. not in the front page. We never post such news on the front page. Post it in one of the inner pages like we use to.”

The journalist looked surprised and confused at that.

“As you wish, sir.” He repeated while gathering his things with shaking hands.

“Don’t forget to mention the hospital’s name and address, and not in an obvious way. Do you understand?”

“I understand, sir.” The man murmured while rushing out of the room like he was escaping from hell itself.

Holdstein then turned towards Carl. “This will bring them out of their hiding place.”

“They won’t risk it, sir.” Carl pierced his lips. “Maybe if we lessened the guards-“

“Are you out of your mind?” Holdstein demanded angrily. “Or did the Soviet front affected your brain? If we did that, they will knew we are preparing a trap for them. On the contrary, we will double the guards, and we will surround the area in every security percussions possible like usual. Only that will convince them that everything is normal.”

“And you think they will attack in such conditions?”

“Only that will make them attack in attempt to release their friend.”

“That doesn’t sound like the resistance. Maybe they will try to save him while being transported to prison or when we are about to execute him. But here? In the hospital? While surrounded by all those guards? I don’t think so.”

“That’s because you don’t them very well, Carl.” Holdstein smirked mockingly at him.

“What? Me not knowing how the resistance think?!” Carl looked at him incredulously.

“I am not talking about the resistance. I meant this man’s friends. They are connected to the one who caused your transfer to the Soviet front last month.”

“What?” Carl’s body jerked violently at that. “Isn’t he gone, sir? Why is he back?”

“Wrong. The question is not why. But how.” Holdstein’s eyes lit up again. His voice got deeper. “How did they came back? That is the only question I care about right now.” 

 

 


	20. Chapter 20

It was a very long night for Tony and Sydney.

Maybe the longest night in all their lives.

For three hours, Tony failed miserably to fall asleep since he was too busy thinking about everything that happened and what’s coming next.

The ship had landed them in the worst era ever. The only era that held an enemy to Castiel that according to the story he heard from Alain and Brigitte, could turn every moment they stayed here a living hell.

From what he gathered from the resistance’s leaders, Castiel managed to stop the crazy bastard, but couldn’t bring himself to kill him, so he wiped his memories but if his name was uttered in front of the crazy general, his memories will be back.

Unfortunately, his presence with Dean will light up his brain like a Christmas tree, since one way or another, Dean would say Castiel’s name.

Then all hell will break loose.

Holdstein will fight them with everything he had because he knew they have his ticket back home. So he could continue his crazy journey with no Castiel this time to chase him down.

And he will manage to fulfill his dream.

To rule the history of the world.

Its past, present and future.

In the middle of all of that, he wondered if he will ever be able to return home.

Return to Steve.

Or is he going to spend the rest of his life lost in time unable to find his way home?

And if he finally managed to find a way back, would Steve still be there? Or would he be long gone?

When his eyes finally fell shut from exhaustion, his dreams were filled with an old man Steve looking at him with sad, dying eyes telling him that he was too late.

***

Meanwhile, Sydney’s thoughts were in a different direction.

She was thinking about her unfinished mission.

She knew that the mission was dangerous.

That the chances of its success was barley 1%.

That’s why the mission needed a volunteer.

A suicidal.

Someone who knew that the future of the earth and their family was more important than their own future.

Their hopes.

Their life itself.

 While she was regaining the details of her journey she fell asleep.

In her dreams, her memories ran wild.

_“You know how dangerous this mission is, right? You might never find your way back home.”_

_“I am aware. But I will do anything for our future. Even if I wasn’t here to see it.”_

_“Then go. Our future is in your hands, my child”_

She jerked awake as the last sentence kept repeating in her head, she sat upright and was surprised to see that everyone was already awake, even Tony but judging from the look in his eyes, his night wasn’t much better than hers.

Brigitte leaned towards her with a small smile.

“A bad dream?” she asked softly, while patting her shoulder reassuringly.

She was surprised from her sudden kindness, since she ordered their death just yesterday.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Sydney muttered while running her hand down her face.

“Don’t really blame you. You had a long day yesterday.”

Sydney just nodded tiredly with a small smile.

“Dean is really in the hospital.” Tony announced when he noticed that she was awake.

“Did he survive?” she asked looking at him hopefully.

“See for yourself.” Tony handed her the morning newspaper.

She read the report carefully then pointed at Holdstein. “Is that him?”

“Apparently, yes.” He turned towards the others as he addressed them. “Him being there would only mean that he regained his memories, or what would make the director of the German intelligence to come and see a man that his men shoot down in the street? And why did they keep him alive in the first place?”

“To interrogate him.” one of the men in the room muttered.

“Does that need the presence of the director himself?”  Tony asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I bet they published that report as a trap for us if we tried to free your friend.” Alain stated grimly.

“I have no doubt about that.” Sydney remarked calmly.

“But we are not giving up on Dean.” Tony added insistently.

The men exchanged a nervous glance.

“I’m sorry to tell you this but we can’t join you in this.” Alain announced firmly.

“Wrong, Alain. We all need to work together against Holdstein.” Tony insisted.

“No, Future man. It is your cause not ours. We know that Holdstein prepared a trap for us and we will not just throw ourselves in it.”

“There will be a plan.” Sydney stated, still calm.

“They will have a plan too.” another man retorted. “And with the plan, they will have forces, power and other things we can’t face.”

“Also that is not our style.” A third man interjected. “We depend on the quick attacks that our enemies don’t expect, who fights from the beginning of the resistance to lead us in a spot they pick and a time they would be prepared for us, and we will not give them that chance to save your friend. We respect Castiel, but we didn’t ask you to come to our time, we will not sacrifice ourselves for you.”

“You are not sacrificing yourself for us, but for France. For the free world.” Sydney faced him sternly, then she moved around among the men. “History said that you will win your fight. That France will regain its freedom and the German enemy will forever fall. But that is just history. The history we studied in our time, not the history we are living right now. If Holdstein did regain his memories, that means he is, like us, knows how history played out. And knows why the Third Reich fell apart. And how the allies regained control over Europe. And how did the war end. Him knowing all that, gives him the chance to avoid all the causes of the defeat. Do you know what that means?” she stopped to look at them sternly. “It means that Germany will win, and will continue to destroy freedom and dignity. The world will turn into a German Japanese colony where no one can even raise their heads.” She took a deep breath then: “You are fighting for your future not for us. You are fighting for France.”

The room was filled with silence after she was finished with her speech, and she made her way towards Tony who was looking at her with a strange look in his eyes.

The room filled with murmurs as they talked about what she said as she turned to Tony with a raised eyebrow.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” she asked in confusion.

He gazed at her with the same strange look. Like he was staring intently at her soul.

“Nothing.” He answered slowly. “You just reminded me of someone while you were speaking.”

She turned her eyes away from his searching stare nervously as Brigitte made her way towards her.

“I am pretty sure Hitler would be jealous of that speech.” Brigitte complimented with a smile.

“I hope the jealousy kills him.” she muttered, still avoiding Tony’s eyes.

“That what we all hope for.” Brigitte laughed then extended her hand towards her. “By the way, your speech convinced me. I will join you in your attempt to save your friend.”

“Really?” Sydney asked in surprise.

“It is not that simple.” Alain interjected firmly. Tony and Sydney turned towards him as he trailed his eyes between them and Brigitte. “The men agreed on one decision.” His brows then furrowed sharply. “We will not join you on your attempt.”   

***

 

 

Natasha rubbed Sam’s shoulders gently when his head fell tiredly on his chest from exhaustion. He had been staring at the screens intently for the past five days.

“Sam, why don’t you take a nap?” she murmured gently in his ear while massaging his tense shoulders.

His body jerked violently, like he just woke up from a nightmare.

“No, no. I still have lots to do.” He objected while adjusting in his seat to continue what he was doing.

“Sam, you can’t go on like this. Everyone is taking a small rest. You should too.”

Sam rubbed his eyes, then went back to work.

“No, I can’t stop now. I almost finished all the files.”

“That can wait for a while. Even till tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?! Who knows what could happen from now till tomorrow. Don’t you know the danger they are facing there?”

“There for them is seventy years ago, Sam.” Came Castiel’s tired voice from behind him.

Sam froze and turned towards him, where he was sitting on the couch with Steve checking tirelessly all Sydney’s files. “You mean there is nothing we can do?”

“Not at all. What I am saying is that we have all the time we need to figure it out. And when we do, we will help them in whatever era they are in.”

Sam sighed, his shoulders dropped in defeat and exhaustion. Natasha placed her hands gently on his shoulders again.

“Please.” she murmured softly. “At least get some sleep on the couch. I am pretty sure Dean won’t be too happy to see you pass out from exhaustion when he comes back. I will continue what you are doing, just please get some rest.”

Sam just nodded tiredly while she placed a soft kiss on his forehead, then helped him up and towards the empty couch. He collapsed on it and was asleep in seconds.

Natasha dropped on Sam’s previous chair while looking at him sadly.

Castiel sighed while grapping the blanket on the back of the couch he was sitting on and moved to cover Sam’s body with it.

“He didn’t sleep for the past five days?” Steve wondered tiredly while looking up at Cas.

“Yes. Neither did you.” Castiel countered with a raised eyebrow.

“I tried. I couldn’t.” Steve shook his head and moved his eyes back to the files in front of him.

Natasha just pinched the bridge of her nose before turning in the chair to continue what Sam was doing while Cas took his place again on the couch next to Steve.

The others pretty much collapsed on their beds a few hours ago, they also worked until they couldn’t stand anymore. Everyone was resting except the four of them. No matter how many times they tried, they couldn’t just sit still and do nothing for even a few minutes.

“This is strange.” Steve muttered as something caught his attention in Sydney’s files.

“What is it?” Castiel looked at him curiously.

“Sydney’s PHDs. When I checked them again in her files, I noticed that she had the same PHDs Tony has.” He explained with furrowed eyebrows. “And they are not fake, since everyone said that she was a genius in all of these fields. It even says one of her talents is basket weaving which is a talent Tony has but refuse to let anyone know about it.”

“This… is a strange coincidence.” Castiel tilted his head in confusion.

“Tell me about it! This can’t be a coincidence! It is like-“

“Holy shit.” Came Natasha’s frantic whisper, like she was trying to not wake Sam up. “Guys, you need to see this!”

Steve and Cas stood up and walked towards her.

“What is it?” Cas asked in concern.

“I just managed to open the file that contains the chemical reactions, biological reactions and replacement and restoration operations of the time ship. Do you see the rate of oxygen consumption? And the rate of cellular balance? And-“

“What does all that means?” Steve interrupted impatiently.

She turned towards him. “It means that Sydney wasn’t honest about one thing.”

“Which was?”

“That when she started her mission until she came to our time, she wasn’t alone.”

Steve and Castiel’s eyes widened as they stared at her.

“You mean-“

“Yes. There is another time traveler that came with Sydney.”

***

Dean’s eyelids shook as he started to wake up in the small hospital he was in. when he felt the pain from his stitches he groaned.

“Goddammit. That bullet really hurts.” He murmured in pain.

“That might be the least pain you will suffer here.” Someone said sternly in German from beside him. He opened his eyes and stared at the face gazing down at him who added: “I think there are lots of things you need to tell us.”

“Who the fuck are you?” Dean asked sharply, not liking how he was talking to him.

“Be polite, spy.” Another stern voice came from the other side of the room. “You are talking to General Friedrich Holdstein. Show some respect.”

Dean turned towards Carl and said in English: “You and your general can go to hell.”

Carl’s brow furrowed, indicating that he didn’t understand English.

“You speak English? Are you American? Or Bri-“

He was cut off by a stern look from Holdstein who leaned towards Dean.

“Looks like you will be the only one here who is going to hell.” He growled in English making Dean frown anxiously. The general then turned towards Carl. “Leave us alone.”

“What?!” Carl exclaimed in surprise.

“I said: leave us alone!” Holdstein shouted sternly.

Carl straightened up with a red face. “As you wish, sir.” Then turned around and stormed out of the room.

The moment the door was closed, Holdstein leaned towards Dean.

“Where’s Castiel?” he asked harshly.

Dean was so taken aback by the question, he flinched and stared at the general with wide eyes.

“C-Castiel?!” he murmured in a shaking voice. How did this man know about Castiel? And why was he asking for him with all that venom in his voice? He gathered himself quickly, and stared at the general as coldly as he could while his heart was beating violently in his chest. “I never heard that name before.”

“Nice try. But it is not going to work.” Holdstein smirked at him. “You are not even that smart. You didn’t try to hide who you are. You should’ve kept pretending to be French.”

“Well, I am not French. Why should I pretend?” Dean just shrugged coldly.

“I know who you are perfectly well, by the way.” Holdstein said firmly.

“Oh yeah?” Dean snorted with a smirk.

“Your name is Dean Winchester.” Dean’s eyes widened while the general just continued. “Son of John and Mary Winchester. You have a younger brother, Sam Winchester. Both of you are hunters your whole lives, and now a new members in the Avengers. And most importantly-“ he suddenly grabbed Dean’s left hand harshly and raised it up to point at his ring. “-married to the angel Castiel, who fell from heaven for you. Because you woke up the human in him somehow. Castiel-“ he leaned towards dean with eyes that are filled with hate and anger. “-The angel who destroyed everything for me and left me here because he was too human to kill me! Is that enough for you or do you need more?!”

Dean stared at the enraged general in shocked silence for a few seconds.

“Who are you?” he demanded, trying to hide how nervous he was.

“Like you heard from Carl. I am General Friedrich Holdstein, director of the German intelligence and the third most important man in the Third Reich after Hitler and Himmler. That all you need to know for now.” Then he gripped Dean by his jacket harshly. “Now tell me: where is Castiel? He couldn’t have possibly left you to come to this era without him. Where is he?!”

Dean didn’t answer and just stared at him coldly. Then suddenly the general punched him so hard across his face.

“You son of-“ he shouted in anger while trying to get out of the bed but Holdstein interrupted him with another punch.

“Where is Castiel and the other two that came with you?! Tell me!” Holdstein demanded in rage.

Dean just chuckled while wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. “I love the fact that you actually think I am going to tell you anything.”

The general grabbed him again by his jacket, glaring at him with pure anger.

“I will make you tell me everything I need! Even if I have to crush every cell in your body!”

“I would love to see you try.” Dean retorted while kicking him in the stomach suddenly.

Holdstein stumbled back from the kick, and Dean shot up from the bed, even with his injuries, and darted towards the general.

He punched him in the jaw but the general gripped his wrist in an iron grip, then grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up from the floor then threw him hard towards the wall.

Dean hit the wall violently and fell to the floor hard. His whole body hurts, his stitches were torn and blood started to flow from his injuries.

Holdstein then kicked him in the stomach hard while shouting: “Tell me where are they?! Tell me!”

Blood fell from Dean’s mouth, but he still smirked up at him without answering.

Holdstein glared down at him in pure rage. “Fine. Have it your way. We will make you talk. We will wipe that smirk from your face.” Then he turned towards the door and yelled. “Carl!”

Carl stormed into the room, like he was waiting for the call, and trailed his eyes in surprise between the general and Dean. The former pointed at the latter and said firmly: “He is all yours.” Then left the room with wide steps. Leaving Carl behind, whose eyes lit up as he stared down at Dean.

Like he couldn’t wait to make true to his name.

The Butcher.

  

 

 

 

 


	21. Chapter 21

“He is leaving the hospital.”

Tony murmured from where he was hiding with Sydney in a corner down the street.

Sydney leaned next to him to watch Holdstein as he walked towards his car.

“Well, he certainly looked like what his reputation says about him.” Sydney muttered while Tony trailed his eyes towards her and away from the general.

When Sydney felt his eyes on her, she turned to him with a raised eye brow.

“What?” she asked while titling her head to the side in confusion. A movement so familiar to Tony that made him stare even more intently.

“You said your dad made your weapons, right?” he asked bluntly. She nodded carefully while looking at him strangely. “He seems very smart to create something so powerful.”

“Yeah, you could say that he is a genius.” She confirmed with a proud smile.

“And what about your mother?”

“What about her?”

“Isn’t she a genius too or something? You sound like a family of incredibly smart people.”

“She is. But she prefers to use her fists more than her smarts.”

“That sounds like someone I know.” Tony was staring directly at her eyes. He caught the slight twitch of her eye even though she tried to hide it.

“Why are you suddenly so interested in my family?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Just trying to figure out who you are.”

“I told you. Well, I told Cas and Steve who in turn told you.”

“Speaking of which, why did you say you will only trust Steve and Cas? Who are they to you in the future? What am I to you to build a guardian robot programmed to protect you? Why did you freak out when you thought Dean was dead and looked so defeated like you expected to die any second? Who are you to us? What is your connection to our future selves?” Tony demanded question after question, not giving her a chance to think.

They stared at each other silently, her face was so emotionless and cold. Her eyes looked like they were staring into his soul. In this few moments, she looked so much like Castiel it caught him off guard as the suspicions growing in his gut started to increase in every passing second.

Then, suddenly she smiled charmingly at him, and brushed her hair behind her ears while chuckling a little. Tony knew it was a nervous gesture. She was nervous.

“Dude, we are hiding in a corner to not be seen by the Nazis, watching a hospital where your best friend was kept and guarded by German soldiers and you are standing here interrogating me about my identity? Seriously?” she chuckled again with a shake of her head. Tony just kept staring at her, but he knew she was right. This wasn’t the right time for this. “Can we focus on Dean’s problem first?”

“It is one hell of a problem especially now that the resistance refused to assist us.” He decided to let it go for now. Until they get Dean back. He will just focus on saving him for the time being.

“You can’t really blame them. Our story is a little hard to believe, and we are asking them to do a risk that could compromise them and lead the Germans to their hideouts in the subways, which no one knows its secrets except them.”

“I know that.” Tony sighed in frustration. “But Dean is still in that bastard’s hands and we have no chance in getting close to him since that general will recognize us from history.”

“Recognize you.” she corrected.

“What?”

“You are Tony Stark. Of course Holdstein will know your face if he saw you, since you are pretty famous and all that. But not me.”

“What are you implying?”

“I am the only one who have a chance to get to Dean.”

“How?”

“By the traditional way, Tony.” She smiled at him. “Didn’t you watch any WWII movies? I will impersonate a German officer, of course!”

“No offense, but I don’t really remember women had such roles in this era.”

“I have a solution for that, no worries.”

“It is impossible, Syd! That is the first thing that will come to their minds! And they will take all the possible precautions they could and-“ he cut himself off as he thought about it again. “-but we can take down all their precautions.”

“Exactly.” Sydney grinned at him.

Tony raised his eyes towards her, and their thoughts matched as a plan started to form in their heads. Soon, Tony found himself grinning back at her.

***

Anxiousness was written all over Fury’s face as he stormed into the room.

“Is what I heard is true, Romanov?” he exclaimed nervously.

Castiel and Steve glared at him and gestured for him to lower his voice while pointing at the still sleeping Sam on the couch.

“If you mean my report about the presence of another time traveler, then yes.” Natasha answered in a hushed voice.

His face paled as he lowered himself on the first seat he found.

“This is a disaster!” he muttered in a much lowered voice. “Can you identify them?”

“Not yet. There is no information about the crew of the ship in any of the files.”

“But you are sure of their presence?”

“Yes.”

“This is a disaster! There is another time spy out there and we don’t have any information about them! A disaster!”

Sam flinched violently in his sleep when Fury’s voice was raised again. Castiel immediately rushed to him to place a hand on his forehead to calm him with his grace and back to sleep while sending another sharp glare towards Fury.

“Maybe it is not that bad.” Steve murmured quietly.

“It is! We discovered Hunter by sheer luck after she worked in the secret service of the president then in SHIELD, then we, suddenly, discover that she has a partner somewhere who could be literally anywhere, in a ministry, or the military or even the white house! I won’t even be surprised if they were in SHIELD too.” then he stood up and paced the room. “And you must have noticed that Hunter never even mentioned their presence, like she was protecting them for some reason. And this proves how dangerous his position must be.”

“Then why not search for them in the places you just mentioned?” Steve asked with a shrug.

“Search for what? Do you have any idea how many people work there? Thousands! We can’t search all their files as thoroughly as we did with Hunter and don’t forget how perfect Hunter’s file was without any mistake.”

“Check the psychological part of the files first.” Castiel stated while covering Sam’s body again since the blanket fell from his violent flinch. “And choose those who have a strong personality, patience, quick decisions makers and you can exclude whoever have a fear of heights or closed places then search for those who prefers to be alone and quiet.”

“And why those specifically?” Fury asked in surprise.

“Because these are the qualities of whoever would go on such a mission.”

“Yeah, that actually makes sense.” Steve nodded along to Castiel’s explanation.

“Yeah, that might actually help in our search but I still need to know any of their physical description. Their height. Their weight or-“

“I might be able to give you that.” Came Charlie’s voice from the doorway.

“Charlie? You didn’t get enough sleep.” Steve murmured in concern.

“I couldn’t settle down and relax so I asked JARVIS to fill me in on what you guys found.” Then she trained her eyes on Fury. “I think I have a way to know an approximate description to the other time traveler.”

“Which is?” Natasha asked curiously.

“We know the consumptions rates insides the ship. We also have Sydney’s rates. All we have to do is subtract her rates from the total rates and what will remain would be the rates of the other time traveler. When we check them we will be able to know their size and descriptions.” She explained while taking a seat in front of the computer and already started to work.

“That… that’s genius. You are a group of geniuses” Fury’s eye widened as he stared at Charlie.

“I hope we are genius enough to bring back Tony and Dean.” Natasha murmured quietly.

“And Sydney.” Steve and Castiel added at the same time, making Fury look at them incredulously.

“She deserves to be saved too.” Castiel stated firmly.

“Besides, her presence is vital now to discover the identity of her partner.” Steve added sternly. “The second time traveler.”

 ***

Holdstein stood staring at a big map of Paris on the wall, lost deep in thought.

Castiel might be back. Or it was just Winchester. But the report of the pilot who almost collided with their ship said that they were two men and a woman. The other man couldn’t be Castiel, the description he was given didn’t match the angel. Unless he chose another vessel, but from the picture he found in the locket around Dean’s neck proved that he was still in the same vessel. So, Castiel wasn’t on the ship with them but he might have come by his powers instead, but who was the other man? And who is the woman? Her description didn’t match anyone he knew from history. He was pretty sure the other two were Avengers. They had to be.

They came in a time ship. He needs that ship. It was his ticket home when he takes control of this era. Without it, all his dreams and hard work would go to waste.

He gazed at the map and kept thinking about who the other man and woman could be, when he was interrupted by a knock on his door.

“Who’s there?” he asked sharply, turning to the door with a glare.

His secretary entered while shaking in fear from him.

“Excuse me, sir.” He said shakily. “I know you said you don’t want to be disturbed, but you asked for the chef of the military police, and he is waiting for almost half an hour now and-“

“Let him in immediately.” He cut him off sternly.

“Of-of course, sir.” The man got out, then a few moments later the chief of the military police entered the room while raising his arm out and exclaiming: “Hail Hitler!”

Holdstein gestured to him without answering his greeting: “Come in, Von Darke. Close the door behind you.”

Colonel Von Darke entered the room and closed the door, then stood waiting for the General’s orders.

“How did the man and woman escape from you, Von Darke?” Holdstein demanded sharply.

“I don’t know how, sir.” The colonel answered with a flushed face. “They entered the subway’s tunnel. Then they vanished completely, leaving no trace behind. We don’t where they-“

“It is not allowed for a colonel in the Third Reich to admit being a failure.” Holdstein interrupted angrily. “A man and woman escaped from you in the subway’s tunnel and vanished. Why would you fall back? They couldn’t have vanished completely, which means they’re there somewhere. Release your men through the tunnels, search everywhere in there. Blow it up if you have to, but find them!”

“Sir, we are trying to-“

“Enough!”

The colonel snapped his mouth shut, his face flushed in frustration.

“I have a confirmed information that the French Resistance’s men are making the subway’s tunnels a hideout for them.” Holdstein stated while straightening himself up.

“The subway’s tunnels?! But sir-“

“Don’t interrupt me!” The general yelled in anger.

“Sorry, sir.”

“This information is nonnegotiable. They are hiding in there and use the complicated tunnels to confuse their chasers.” then he took a deep breath before adding: “But we are going to ruin that.”

“May I ask how, sir?” The colonel asked carefully.

“Go to the archives and search for maps for the subway’s tunnels.”

“We tried before, sir. But the French hid all those maps that we didn’t find any copy of them.”

“And that didn’t make you suspect for a second that they are hiding there?!” Holdstein screamed in anger.

“They are not the only things that went messing, sir.” The colonel stated hesitantly. “The French also hid everything related to their history and art.”

“Fine. Leave that to me.” the General growled. “Just prepare your men for an attack that will be strong enough to wipe out the French Resistance from history. Forever.”

***

“The plan need precision and preparation to avoid any chance of failure.”

Sydney stated while she was sitting with the resistance men in that big room in the subway’s tunnels.

“Let’s first lay out all the troubles I am going to face while impersonating a German officer in an attempt to get Dean out. At first, we will face Carl Mannheim’s suspicion, and his insistence to make sure that the person in front of him is the real deal, then his insistence on an official statement of delivering Dean to the officer. That statement needs to have Holdstein’s signature on it. Then, he will try to contact the General himself. This call will be made by a telephone or a communication device.”

“Or send one of his soldiers to make sure.” One of the men suggested sharply.

“Or he will go himself.” Another one said.

“He won’t be able to do either of those things.” Tony answered with a shake of his head. “If the statement the officer will have said that the delivery must be quick.”

“What if Holdstein went to the hospital at the same time?” Alan asked in worry.

“This is also a possibility.” Tony agreed then looked around at the other men. “Does anyone have any other possibilities?”

“You are asking us?” one of them asked in surprise.

“Well, yeah. Maybe someone will have a possibility that didn’t cross my mind.”

They all exchanged nervous looks before looking back at him. “But our decision didn’t change, Stranger. We will not help you with this.”

“That depends on the kind of help we need.” Sydney pointed out.

“What do you mean?” Brigitte asked in confusion.

“She means that we will not ask you to face the Germans with us.” Tony answered. “We understand your decision. We will just need your help in the preparations of the plan.”

“What are you asking exactly?”

“At first, we need a Gestapo officer clothes with a rank higher than Carl Mannheim’s, a German driver clothes and a Gestapo car.”

“That can be arranged.” Alain shrugged.

“We will also need a professional forger.” Sydney stated. Alain and Brigitte’s brows furrowed as they looked at each other. “We don’t need to meet them personally. You can keep their secret. We will just need a statement in Holdstien’s handwriting and signature.”

The French exchanged another look before Brigitte turned back to them “Write the statement you want and we will try our best.”

“Perfect. All we need now is a long range wireless device and transistors.” Tony announced with a smile.

“Trans-what?” Alain exclaimed in confusion.

“He means electronic valves.” Sydney clarified with a small smile.

“These last things will be hard.” Brigitte said anxiously. “The Germans forbid trading them so no one can contact the allies.”

“But it is not impossible, right?” Sydney insisted while looking at her.

Brigitte gazed into her eyes and gave her a small, secret smile. “Not for you.” she whispered sweetly to her.

Alain furrowed his brow in anger and glared at Sydney, jealousy clear in his eyes while Sydney blushed and flustered and murmured: “Uhm, yeah great. Can we have all those things fast?”

“Not before a few hours.” Alain said harshly.

Tony trailed his eyes between Sydney, Brigitte and Alain contemplatively before saying: “As long as those few hours won’t turn into days. Dean is still in their hands and we don’t know what are they doing to hi-“

“They’re torturing him!”

Bernard shouted that sentence as he got in the room while panting harshly.

Tony flinched while Sydney tensed from his sentence.

“T-torturing him?” Tony stuttered as he stared at Bernard, he already could feel his breath getting shorter and his hands shook a little.

“Yes.” Bernard confirmed with a nod. “One of our friends in the hospital told me that that Butcher, Carl Mannheim, is doing his favorite hoppy on him without caring for his injuries.”

“That son of a bitch.” Sydney growled in anger.

“They removed two of his fingernails, cut off his stitches and left him to bleed out. Not mention the bruises and the-“

“Please, stop.” Tony choked out as he felt an anxiety attack hitting him from the visual images flooding through his head. He could feel Sydney’s worried eyes on him, but he ignored her look and got up on his feet and fled from the room to have his attack in privacy.

Sydney followed him with her eyes, concern and sadness filling her up, then she turned back to the men.

“We need to work harder, guys.” she said anxiously. “Every second passes, cost poor Dean a lot. Please, hurry. Help us before Holdstein comes for you.”

“He can’t come for us in here.” Alain snapped sharply. “No one except us could move freely in those tunnels.”

“Who knows?” Sydney asked firmly.

“What do you mean?!”

“You heard me, Alain. Who knows?” she then, also got to her feet and went after Tony, leaving dead silence behind her as everyone thought about what she just said.    

 

  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter you will have most of your questions about Sydney answered, so stay tuned!


	22. Chapter 22

Sydney found Tony in an empty tunnel.

He was sitting on the floor, back to the wall with his knees pressed to his chest. He was staring at the pictures in his wallet while his other hand was fisting the dog tags around his neck.

Also, he was shaking and breathing a little harshly. Like he was desperately trying to reassure himself without needing help.

Which Sydney knew from experience that he won’t be able to.

She knows that Tony didn’t have to deal with his attacks on his own for years. There was always someone there he trusted enough to help him. Steve was his constant source of reassurance. He would always be there for him. Helping him through it. And now he also have Dean there for him when Steve wasn’t around. The first time Dean had to help Tony through one of his attacks was when Steve got badly injured and was pretty much dying. Since then, Dean would always be there for Tony when Steve was out of commission.

But Steve wasn’t here. Dean also wasn’t here. And Tony was suffering alone.

Sydney knew that Tony won’t let her help him. He would rather die than letting his weakness show in front of anyone. Especially the fact that, to him? They barely knew each other.

But to her? She knew Tony all her life. He was one of the constants of her life. A huge part of her family.

The family that she was constantly around right now but unable to even be close to them like she needs.

She was making a decision as she stared at Tony’s hunched over form. A decision that could possibly end her own existence. But her existence was being threatened every second the three of them spend in that godforsaken era, so she decided to not let Tony suffer on his own anymore.

He was going to have someone from his family with him.

After making her decision, she walked over towards Tony and dropped on the ground next to him.

She immediately felt him tense and was struggling to gather himself as well as he could so she won’t sense anything.

Yeah, right.

“I know what you need.” She murmured softly so she won’t spook him even more.

“You don’t know anything about me.” he spat with a grimace, but didn’t look at her face. “You do realize that I just met you yesterday, right? Whatever you heard about me in your time is probably not true, so cut the act already.”

“I know for a fact that everything I heard about you is true.” She muttered with a small smile. “Because I saw them with my own eyes my whole life.”

“What is that suppose to mean? I paid for your college or something?”

Instead of answering, she pulled out something from around her neck, that she was hiding under her clothes, then gently took Tony’s hand, which was still fisting his dog tags, completely ignoring his flinch and his attempt to move away. She opened his hand to reveal the dog tags, then opened her own hand to show him what was around her neck.

He looked at her in confusion, then looked down at both their hands and froze. Sydney was also holding out dog tags, which were identical to the ones around his own neck.

He froze in place while staring at them, then he looked up at her with wide eyes.

“H-how did you get those?” he asked shakily.

“They were given to me by my dad before I left for my mission. They were given to him first by his father. My grandpa. The tags was giving to him years before, by his husband. My other grandpa.” She answered while looking directly at his eyes. “My name is Sydney Stark-Rogers.”

Tony was completely frozen in place as he stared at her. His face showed no emotions.

“This is impossible.” He snapped suddenly with a glare. “What you are trying to imply is impossible.”

“Yes. It sounds impossible.” She smiled, not even rattled by his harshness. “But I guess impossible things are a daily routine for you guys.”

“You are trying to tell me that Steve and I will actually have a kid who is going to get married and have you? I am sorry to rain on your parade but this is beyond impossible! If you haven’t noticed, we don’t really have the right parts to bring your daddy.”

“I can’t tell you how. I am already ruining the future right now, I can’t make things even worse. All you need to know is that every word I am saying is the truth. I am pretty sure you already suspected something.”

“Yes, I suspected something! But you are confusing and complicated. It’s like you have four people inside your head and you switch to one of them according to the situation you are dealing with.”

“Two of those four people are you and Steve, right?” she questioned with a smirk.

Tony hesitated while trying to keep the glare firmly on his face. And that was an answer enough.

“Why did you freak out when we thought Dean was going to die?” he asked bluntly, heart beating hard in his chest.

“Because if Dean died, I will cease to exist.” She answered honestly, while still staring at him intently.

She could almost hear his brain breaking.

“I am sorry, what?” Tony choked out.

Instead of answering, she pulled up the sleeve of her jacket and raised her wrist in front of his eyes.

His eyes landed on the plaited leather bracelet she was wearing. Specifically, on the metallic circle dangling from it where there was words engraved in it with a very familiar handwriting ‘ _Always with you’_.

Tony flinched back like someone had slapped him, then gripped the sides of his head with his hands.

“Nope. Nope. Can’t believe this. nope.” He muttered under his breath as he tried to take all of this information in. “You are actually trying to tell me that, Steve and I will have a kid who is going to marry Dean and Castiel’s kid and they will have you?”

“Yup.” she grinned at him cheekily. “You could say I hit the genes jackpot!”

“Oh, god, here’s your Dean showing.” He shook his head violently. “Wait. If you are Castiel’s descendant that means you are supposed to have grace. Which means you are supposed to not be completely human. If that’s true how the hell Castiel didn’t immediately see the grace inside you? That if you are telling the truth, of course.”

“My mom is half human, half angel true, but my Dad is human, so as a result I don’t really have much grace. You could say that I am 85% human. The grace in me is very small I can hide it so it barely shows to anyone. I can’t even use it, it just heals me when I am injured pretty badly, and that’s it.” Then she smirked again. “And I am pretty sure Castiel did catch something unusual in me, but didn’t have time to place it.”

“Prove that you have grace.” Tony ordered, still didn’t want to believe her obviously.

“Would you believe me then?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Probably.”

She sighed in frustration then closed her eyes, when she opened them again they were shining a bright blue light that made Tony’s eyes get so wide they almost fell from his face.

“Proof enough for you?” Sydney asked snarkily while her eyes returned to normal.

“You-you-you are-“ Tony stuttered as he struggled to gather his violently scattered thoughts. “Oh God, this explains so much.” He whispered fervently, talking more to himself than her as he probably relived all his interactions with her since the moment they met. “You are like, the four of us if you put us in a blender this is just-“ he cut himself off and looked at her with unseeing eyes. “Steve and I are going to have a family.” He whispered, his voice filled with awe. “And-and we will be in-laws with the Winchesters. And-and-“ he stopped to calm his violently beating heart. “Wait, wait. Why are you telling me all of this now? You were so determined to not let anyone know too much about the future. What changed?”

“Probably the fact that this future is in danger.” She stated grimly. “I am constantly in danger of being erased along with my parents.”

“Because Dean and I are here.” Tony murmured in panic. “If something happens to one of us, or if we never managed to go back home, that future will never happen!”

“Pretty much.” She sighed in defeat. “I also kinda told you now to give you something to fight for.” She then grabbed his shoulders tightly and looked him straight in the eyes. “This is your family. An amazing future is waiting for you and Dean. I need you to fight for it, Tony. Fight for your current family and your future one.”

Tony stared at her for a long time, before a look of determination took over his face.

“Let’s go save that idiot.” Tony said in determination. “And we are going to fight our way back home.” 

 

         

 


	23. Chapter 23

Holdstein’s car stopped in front of a building at the edge of Paris.

“We’re here, sir.” The driver announced in respect.

Holdstein trailed his eyes towards the building then said firmly: “Watch the place and guard it well. No one enters the building, no matter what. Do you understand?”

“Understood, sir.” The driver murmured shakily.

Holdstein got out of the car, his eyes landing on his men. “Wait for me.” he ordered them, then he walked towards the building while pulling out a small key from his pocket. “And I was wondering, for the past month, what was that key for.” He murmured to himself as he stared at the key in his palm.

Calmly, he inserted the key into the keyhole and opened the door. He entered the building then closed the door behind him.

For a few seconds he just stood there staring at the darkness surrounding him before he reached for a part in the door frame, pushed it and it turned on itself to reveal a hole where a special kind of glasses was hidden. He took the glasses and put them on his eyes.

The moment the glasses were placed on his eyes, everything was painted pale green and hundreds of laser beams appeared around the room.

“Perfect. The security system is still functioning.” He murmured with a smile.

He carefully crossed through the laser beams without touching any of them until he reached another door. He pressed his palm against it and said in a strong steady voice: “Dr. Arthur Williams.”

When his AI confirmed his identity, the door opened with a voice saying: “Identity confirmed. Entrance allowed.”

The door opened, revealing a huge room filled with all kinds of devices that would never exist until another hundred years at least.

When he removed the glasses from his eyes, the room was lit up while his AI started to speak: “Hello, Dr. Williams. What would you like to search for today?”

“History of world war two.” He answered while making his way towards a huge computer screen.

The computer started working even before he reached it and a sentence appeared on the screen. “History of WWII. (1939-1945). What do you want to search for?”

“The archives.” He took a seat in front of the computer. “Paris. The subway’s tunnels.”

A map appeared on the screen, showing every detail of the subway’s tunnels. He looked at it for a few seconds.

“Connect the map with The French Resistance during the war.”

A few seconds passed, then a map of the French resistance’s hideouts in the tunnels was printed neatly. He checked it out then his eyes lit up in delight.

“Perfect. I have put my hand on the first step.” A vicious smile appeared on his face. “The first step of changing history.”

***

“I think I got what you need.”

Charlie announced while rubbing her eyes tiredly. Fury jumped up and rushed towards her.

“You did?” he asked hopefully.

“Here is all the descriptions.” She gestured tiredly at the screen. “He/she are well built, broad shouldered, very tall probably 6’8, weight approximately 260 pounds or so. All that depends on the activity they were doing inside the ship.”

“Perfect! So now we have their physical and psychological descriptions. If we compared them with everyone working in important positions, it will narrow it down to-“

“37,610.” Charlie murmured while resting back on her chair tiredly.

“What?”

“This is the number of the people who match these descriptions in all the places you mentioned.”

“Motherfucker!” he exclaimed, only to get angry glares from both Charlie and Natasha who were the only two awake in the room besides Castiel. Sam was still sleeping deeply, while Steve fell asleep when Castiel made him sleep with his grace on the couch, his legs thrown over Castiel’s lap who just put Sydney’s files on the feet in front of him and continued to study them.

“This might take days of continues work to check them all.” Natasha muttered while her eyes dropping in need for sleep.

“That if we managed to find them in the end if they were as good as Hunter was when they made their file.”

“Probably. But their situation is different now.” Castiel commented from the couch.

Natasha gave him a tired look before resting her head on the back of her chair and closed her eyes.

“How’s that?” Fury asked the angel in interest.

“Since they are Sydney’s partner then they will know that the ship left without them and now they are a prisoner in this time forever. That will push them to being frustrated, which will lead to errors in their work or in attempt to avoid any errors, will take a time off or something. Look into that and the number will lessen a little.”

“That’s genius! But it will-“

He was cut off when Castiel suddenly flinched violently and let out a sharp, loud gasp while holding his head in his hands.

Everyone, even Sam and Steve, shot up at the sound of his gasp and were immediately by his side.

“Cas! Cas, what’s wrong?” Sam exclaimed while grapping the angel’s shoulders in worry.

Castiel flinched again violently, making Steve grab into him so he won’t fall to the ground.

“Cas, what’s happening?” Steve asked trying not to panic.

Castiel took a few deep breaths as he tried to come back to them.

“History.” He murmured while looking up at them with wide eyes. “It is changing.”

***

Dean bit his lower lip hard until he felt blood in his mouth to keep the pained scream in his throat at bay, while Carl’s men were removing another fingernail from his left hand.

The pain was unbearable. But he resisted it with all his power.

He will not give Carl the pleasure of hearing his screams. Carl, who was doing all of this to get a pained scream or a begging yell. Besides, this wasn’t the worst torture he ever endured.

What he was doing was working since Carl was filled with frustration and anger at Dean’s silence while he was pacing the room.

“Is that enough for you or do you want more?!” he shouted in anger at Dean, who was tied down to a chair in front of him.

Dean’s face was flushed from pain and wariness, but he managed to let out a mocking smirk.

“What? Are you getting bored already?” He smirked cheekily at the fuming man.

“Oh, so you are trying to prove how strong you are?” Carl spat in anger. “Do you think that will help you here? Wrong, Smartass. What you suffered through so far is only the beginning!”

“Believe me, I have had worse.” Dean’s smirk was still firmly on place even when he was fighting to stay conscious. “Whatever your men will do, is just a child play for me.”

“Is that so?!”

“Yup, Goldilocks.”

“Give me a cigarette and light it up for me!” he shouted at one of his men who scrambled to do his order.

Carl took a few deep breaths from the cigarette and let out the smoke at Dean’s face.

“You know, I quitted smoking a year ago.” Carl started while getting close to Dean. “The Führer doesn’t like smokers, especially if they were from the Gestapo’s men. He says it is necessary for them to be stronger than such ugly habit.” Then he leaned directly towards Dean’s face. “I am sure you are wondering why I am smoking again.”

“Maybe to make people happy with your death later?” Dean murmured snarkily.

“Actually it is for a much simpler reason, Smartass.” Carl narrowed his eyes at Dean. “I lighted it up so I could-“ he darted forward suddenly to plant the cigarette into Dean’s shoulder. “-put it out here!”

The movement was so sudden it took Dean off guard and couldn’t contain the scream that ripped out from his throat.

“That’s what I was waiting to hear!” Carl let out a loud maniac laugh.

“You fucking son of a bitch!” Dean screamed in pure anger.

“Shut up!” one of the three soldiers in the room yelled while hitting Dean’s head with the heel of his gun.

The hit was so hard, that it made Dean’s chair fall backwards causing Dean’s head to hit a medical table and fall with it to the floor, at the same time, blood spurted out from the hit.

From the sound of the violent fall, one of the doctors rushed into the room yelling: “Enough! This is a hospital! Not a torturing dungeon!”

“This is not your business!” Carl shouted at him angrily.

“I am a doctor in this hospital!” the doctor countered sharply.

“Do you think that gives you the right to interject in our work?”

“This is not work! This is savage!”

“Oh, so you are one of the freedom callers?” Carl gestured towards his men, the three of them attacked the doctor suddenly, showering him with punches, kicks and hits from the heel of their guns while the poor man kept screaming.

Dean took advantage of their distraction, and let his hands search, from behind his back, for one of the tools that landed on the floor from the table he hit, to help him cut the ropes.

His hand caught a broken, glass piece and he hid it between his fingers when the soldiers came back for him after the poor doctor fell unconscious outside the room.

“Next time if someone entered the room shoot them!” Carl yelled, pointedly raising his voice so everyone outside would hear him. Then he kicked the door closed at the face of the doctors who rushed to help their fallen friend, and turned back to Dean, who the men pulled his chair upright again. “This goes for you too, pretty face! If we got bored with you, we will shot your face!”

“Without your devilish general’s orders?” Dean smirked at him while his hand worked with the broken glass to cut off the rope. “He really wants the information I have. He will not forgive you for killing me no matter what excuse you will give him.”

Carl glared at him with pure rage before leaning towards him again: “It seems like you are still ignorant to our ways, pretty face. We will keep your life, of course, if we thought it could hold any importance to us. But that will not stop us from removing your fingernails, or put your feet in boiling water, or even cut off your hands and feet, then, and that’s what always happen, you will tell us everything we need unless you proved you are a rare kind of men who can withstand any type of torture or sacrifice his life itself, so he won’t tell on his friends or tell his secrets, then we will grow bored of you and will kill you mercilessly.” His glare hardened as he stared directly at Dean’s eyes. “And you specifically, I promise you to set fire to you so you can burn alive while I enjoy your screams and pleads for mercy.”

Dean just blinked back at Carl coldly, which unsettled the man, and looked down for a few seconds like he was in deep thought and when he raised them again he whispered: “I have a surprise for you.”

Carl didn’t hear him well, so he leaned towards him more. “You have what?”

Dean’s fist shot out from behind his back suddenly to punch Carl. “Surprise, Bitch!”

The punch was so hard, it threw Carl back violently to hit two of his men and send the three of them tumbling to the floor.

Before the third soldier could come out of his shock, Dean darted towards him to punch him in the middle hard, then on the back of his neck to send him tumbling to the floor motionless.

Carl got on his feet fast while shouting: “I don’t know how you got out of your restraints but-“

“Oh, just shut up already.” Dean kicked him hard in the chest to send him falling on the two men again.

The two soldiers pointed their guns at him while Carl got up again. “Kill him if you had to!” Carl shouted while jumping at Dean.

Even though, Carl was a high trained Gestapo officer, but even fighting techniques advance through time.

So, when Carl darted towards Dean violently, Dean leaned back lightly, even with all his injuries, and punched Carl in the stomach with all his strength, then gripped Carl’s shoulders and twisted them and sent him flying towards the nearest wall.

This time, Dean rushed towards the door, blood covering his shirt’s back and from where his nails used to be.

Suddenly, the door opened before Dean could reach it by one second.

Dean froze in place as he stared at the newcomer’s face.

  General Holdstein himself.

Before Dean knew what’s happening, the general punched him in the face.

The punch was abnormally strong, Dean felt like a truck hit him in the face and sent him flying across the room to hit the wall so hard, what was left of his stitches torn open and blood started to pour out, as he hit the floor and passed out immediately.

Holdstein entered the room while giving Carl a glare that the man felt himself shaking from its intensity and the anger in them.

“Sir, I-“ he started in a choked out voice.

“Shut up.” The general cut him off firmly, then his eyes landed on Dean. “Looks like I have to do everything myself.” When Carl was about to defend himself again, the General stopped him. “I said: shut up! You are not allowed to speak right now!” his eyes trailed towards Dean again. “I bet you couldn’t get anything out of him, besides his fingernails.”

“The man is way too strong willed, sir. And-“

“Call Von Darke and tell him to meet me.”

“In your office?”

“No, Carl. Tell him to meet me here.”

He said it while his eyes lit up as a plan formed in his head.

 

 

   


	24. Chapter 24

Brigitte stared in a confused awe at Tony who was sitting cross-legged on the floor, surrounded by valves and pieces of the communication device Bernard gave him, and looked to be absorbed in what he was doing. She easily realized how smart Tony was. A genius even. She hears him talk to Sydney and she barley understood half what they say, which meant that Sydney was equally smart as him.

“What is he doing?” Brigitte asked in confusion.

“The device he is making will prevent Carl from calling Holdstein in any way.” Sydney answered while pulling on the military officer clothes.

“How’s that?” she asked with wide surprised eyes.

“When we place it on the building opposite the hospital, it will release signals that will ruin all communications in the area for a while.”

“How is that possible?”

“It is just a future technology, Brig.” Sydney said with a small smile.

Brigitte looked at her for a few seconds then smiled sweetly at her.

“No one ever shortened my name before.” she murmured gently.

“Uhm, sorry. It is a habit. I shorten names. That’s-that’s what I do.” Sydney blushed and looked down in embarrassment.

Brigitte brushed her hand against hers, which made Sydney look up again.

“I liked the sound of it coming from you.” Brigitte murmured, looking at her from under her lashes.

Sydney got lost in her wide blue eyes. Apparently, she inherited Tony and Dean’s fixation of blue eyes, since she couldn’t look away from Brigitte’s very blue, very pretty eyes.

Alain entered the room then and made his way towards them, breaking the moment.

“The car is here.” Alain announced. “We are hiding it in a hidden ally.”

“And the statement?” Sydney asked while turning to him.

“Here it is.” Alain pulled out a folded paper from his pocket and hand it to Sydney.

Sydney took it and checked it out in interest. “It looks very real.” She said with a smile. “Where did you get Holdstein’s signature?”

“From an old execution order.” He answered harshly, moving to stand purposefully between Sydney and Brigitte. “When will you start your plan?”

Sydney furrowed her brows at his behavior but answered anyway. “When we are sure that Holdstein is in his office.”

“What is your plan anyway?”

“It is pretty simple. In an exact moment, when Holdstein is in his office, we will put the device on the building opposite the hospital. Then, someone will go to meet Holdstein, claiming that he has very important information about an unknown aircraft he saw flying in the sky. That claim will catch Holdstein’s attention, and will meet the man himself. That man will try to keep Holdstein occupied for fifteen minutes in his office. At the same time, Tony and I will reach the hospital, driving the Gestapo car. I will go to Dean’s hospital room, pretending to be a German officer, and will give Carl the statement that states for him to give me Dean as soon as possible, because of a very important changes, and for Carl to remain with his men in the hospital until he receives other orders. Of course, Carl will doubt every word, and will want to make sure of it. I will then, suggest for him to try to call Holdstein directly, and to make it fast. When he will try, he will find out that all communications are down, that would make him to have no other choice but to give me Dean.”

Alain was silent for a few seconds then said harshly: “Do you think things will be that easy?”

“If we had two volunteers, everything will be alright.”

“Two volunteers?! We agreed that we will not-“

“We are not asking you to fight.” Tony interjected, looking up from his work. “We just need someone to turn on the device on time and another to go to Holdstein and keep him occupied for fifteen minutes.”

“No. you will not have-“

“What’s wrong with you, Alain?!” Brigitte cut him off sharply. “Why are you acting like this? Is it jealousy or something?”

“Jealousy?!” he exclaimed flinching back.

“I was told that you were the one who convinced the men to not help Tony and Sydney, and now you are treating them harshly while they are trying so hard to save their friend and save our future from an insane man, like what Castiel did.”

“Are you really believing their story?”

“Yes, Alain, I do. We both believed that story before with Castiel, or did you forget?”

He was quiet for a few seconds then looked away saying firmly: “Fine, Brigitte. Do whatever you want. But I will not risk my life for them or for their friend.”

“Fine. Suite yourself.” She shouted sharply then straightened herself. “But I will.”

Everyone turned to her in surprise.

“What are you doing?” Alain exclaimed incredulously.

“I will go to meet Holdstein and I will try to keep him in his office for as long as possible.”

Tony’s brows furrowed nervously while Sydney turned towards her sharply exclaiming: “No! Not you!”

Delight filled Brigitte and a smile appeared on her face as she looked up at Sydney: “Not me? Why?”

Alain didn’t give Sydney a chance to reply: “Are you out of your mind?! We will never let you do such risk!”

“This is my choice, Alain!” she exclaimed firmly. “You don’t believe their story, but I do. I know that our goals are the same. So, I will risk my life itself if I have to, to help them. Even if I had to turn on the device then go to meet Holdstein at the same time.”

“I will move the device and turn it on, ma’am.” One of the men announced excitedly.

“Great! And I will go-“

“I will not let you do this.” Sydney cut her off firmly.

“Listen, Sydney. I am the French resistance’s leader. I have to be a role model for them. We are both strong, fearless women so you must understand. I have faced hundreds of-“

“No, Brigitte.” Alain interjected sternly. When she turned to him sharply he continued. “I will go to Holdstein.” Everyone looked at him in surprise. “And this is unnegotiable.” 

***

“Hail Hitler!”

Colonel Von Darke exclaimed strongly when he entered the office room in the hospital, which Holdstein was in.

“You are right on time, Von Darke.” The General turned towards him.

The colonel furrowed his brows in annoyance. The general didn’t greet him back. “I came as soon as I could, sir.”

Holdstein stood up and stared at him. “Are your men ready?”

“They are as ready as they can be, sir. But we still don’t know how we can find the Resistance’s men in the tunnels.”

Holdstein pulled out the folded map from his pocket and handed it to the colonel. “Here is the way.” The colonel unfolded the map and stared at it in surprise. “That’s a full map of the subway’s tunnels, and there’s marks that indicates their hideouts and-“

“Where did you get this map, sir?” Von Darke interjected in surprise.

The general looked at him angrily. “Are you interrupting me for such a stupid question? You know we have our ways to get information.”

“I am not talking about the information, sir. I meant the map itself. I never saw such paper and perfect printing like this.”

Holdstein furrowed his brows and cursed under his breath when he realized that he gave the colonel the map that the computer printed.

“It is one of the German’s brilliant inventions, which we keep it a secret, so the enemies won’t reach it.” Then he snatched the map from him. “That’s why you are going to copy it, and will not keep the original.”

“Of-of course, sir.”

“Now prepare your men to attack the resistance from three different directions to surround them in their hideout. Then wipe them all out completely.”

“All of them sir? Aren’t we going to keep one or two for interrogation?”

“All of them, Von Darke.” Then he turned to pour himself a glass of wine. “With that, we will write the first pages of the new history. My history.”

 

    


	25. Chapter 25

It was ten AM, when Rhodey entered the room where everyone were gathering.

“Hey guys.” he greeted them with a tired smile. “Sorry it took me too long to see you, guys. I just managed to get out of the base two hours ago.” He dropped on the couch next to Thor. “Anything?”

“Not yet.” Steve sighed sadly. “We just found out that Sydney had a partner. So, Charlie is looking into finding them, while Natasha is searching for anything mentioning Tony and Dean in the old newspapers from WWII. Dr. Foster is studying the time maps hoping to understand the writing on them with Sam’s help. Clint went with Fury to help him search for the second time traveler.”

“What a mess.” Rhodey exhaled anxiously. “I still can’t believe what happened. How are you holding up?”

“Barely.” Steve answered bitterly. “His absence is taking its toll on me.”

“I know how you feel.” Rhodey looked at him with sad eyes. “At least he is not alone in this. How is Cas doing?”

Steve gestured towards the large window, where Castiel was standing, staring at it completely frozen like a statue.

“Is he alright?” Rhodey asked as he looked at him in concern.

“Poor Castiel was burdened by knowledge.” Thor replied gazing at Castiel sadly. “He said history is changing. He is the only one here who can feel the change profoundly and it is taking its toll on him.”

“History is changing? That can’t be good, what changed?”

“He said that the Germans were supposed to never know that the French resistance were hiding in the subway’s tunnels.” Steve answered his lips twisting sadly. He was wondering what happened to his friends from the resistance then, but for some reason his memory was hazy on that particular part. “And as you can tell, that’s not what happened.”

“You mean only before yesterday what you just said was what the history always said but that changed yesterday and only Castiel felt it?!”

“Apparently, yes.”

“God, my head hurts.” Rhodey groaned loudly. “This time traveling thing always gave me headaches when I think about it.”

Before Steve could answer him, Clint entered the room with a frown on his face.

“What happened?” Steve asked in concern.

“Nothing.” Clint dropped on the couch next to him heavily. "And I mean literally nothing! We looked through the files of all the possible suspects that the descriptions you guys gave applied to them, but they all proved to be innocent and we never found the time traveler.”

“What? That’s impossible!” Charlie exclaimed looking up from her computer. “I rechecked my calculations five times. There is no way I was wrong.”

“Maybe if we take another look-“ Natasha started but Clint just shook his head.

“No, Nat. I am pretty sure that Charlie’s findings and Cas’ suggestions are perfect. I have a proof of that.”

“A proof? What proof?” Steve wondered in surprise.

“SHIELD’s system was hacked yesterday.”

“What? That’s impossible.” Natasha exclaimed. “The only ones who managed to do that were me and Tony. They have very strong defenses, there is no way anyone could get pass it.”

“They got past all of them all too easily. And stopped the defense systems, that no one noticed them as they dived into the main system until seven whole minutes. The moment they were caught, they retreated immediately.”

“What did they hack into?” Steve asked carefully.

“All the classified information about Sydney.”

“Damn, they’re good.” Rhodey muttered grimly.

“That proves that there is another time traveler.” Natasha muttered. “A really smart one too. Probably as smart as Sydney.”

“You could obviously tell that Fury is panicking.” Clint bit his lower lip in worry. “He believes this could be the start of a war. A war to control time.”

***

“He left the hospital.”

Bernard announced as he rushed inside the room.

“Are you sure?” Tony asked anxiously.

“I saw him with my own eyes! He left the hospital with Von Darke, chief of Military police, each one rode in their cars and left.”

“Good. Everything is going according to plan.”

“We will start moving now.” Sydney announced while looking at her watch. “Set your watches. We will start our plan at 7:30, when Holdstein reached his office. Charles will take the device now to place it on the building opposite the hospital. While Alain will go now to Holdstein’s office. Tony and I will move out at 7:12, and will drive around the area, then we will stop in front of the hospital at 7:30. At the same time, Charles will turn on the device and Alain will ask to meet Holdstein.” Everyone nodded in understanding. “Timing, people. Timing is the most important part here.”

“Don’t worry.” Alain said sternly then left immediately to reach Holdstein’s office on time, followed by Charles.

Sydney adjusted her clothes and took a deep breath. “I hope we will play our roles perfectly too.”

“You will succeed.” Brigitte smiled softly at her. “I know you will.”

She turned to look at her blue eyes, heart racing and-

“I think we better leave now.”

Tony pulled her back to the present sternly, she straightened up in determination. “Let’s go.”

She looked away from Brigitte, trying to control her feelings while she walked away next to Tony.

“Sydney.” she froze and turned a little to look back at Brigitte, who was still smiling at her. “I’ll wait for you.”

She felt her heart beat rapidly and couldn’t say anything so she just waved at her with a small smile and left with Tony through the tunnels.

They didn’t speak for a while as they walked, then Tony spoke.

“You like her, don’t you?” he asked bluntly. “A little too much. A little too fast.” Sydney didn’t answer so he continued. “I hate to rain on your parade, Syd, but I am afraid this will bring the both of you a whole lot of trouble. We are not in a homosexuality friendly era. You could get her killed. Not to mention that you are almost a hundred years apart or more. Also, Alain is hopelessly in love with h-“

“It wasn’t my choice.” Sydney interrupted sadly.

“I know.” Tony murmured softly.

“You know? This is the first time this ever happened to me.” Sydney sighed. “I am the leader of the Avengers. I only focused on my team and their safety. Their parents and their grandparents trusted me with them. I couldn’t let myself get distracted by anything. My life only involved my team and my family.”

“God, you are really Steve’s grandkid.” Tony shook his head with a chuckle. “But even Steve let himself have a life. Let himself to love. I am sorry to tell you this but you chose the wrong time to fall for someone.”

“You mean the wrong era.” Sydney murmured bitterly. Tony nodded with a sigh without commenting. Sydney shook her head and looked up at him. “I will keep away these feelings. I promise.”

Tony looked at her sadly for a second. “I hope so.”

They reached the end of the tunnel then and Sydney straightened herself and took a pose to act like a Gestapo officer.

“Charming. But you do realize you still look like a woman even if you are wearing men clothing, right?” Tony looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

She smirked while pulling out a very small device from her pocket and placed it behind her ear then tapped it.

Tony watched as her appearance completely changed into a male form, no trace of her being a woman left.

“Let me guess, compliments of me?” Tony looked her up and down appreciatively.

“That’s actually a birthday present from you.” she grinned at him. “Dean helped you with it. My little brother and I needed to sneak out a lot from behind our parents, Steve and Castiel. So, you made those for us.”

“I knew it. I am still cool even in the future.” Tony let out a loud laugh as he walked towards the car with Sydney.

 “You are taking this whole thing easier than I expected.” Sydney commented as she got in the backseat. “I was expecting you to deny it and shut me out.”

“Honestly? I am freaking out from this whole thing.” Tony said he got in the driver seat. “I know if I thought about it all I am going to panic, so I am just focusing to get Dean back so we could panic together on the whole grandparents thing.”

“Yeah, that is probably for the best.” She smiled then looked down at her watch. “7:16.”

“We will drive around then we will stop in front of the hospital at 7:30.” Tony said while starting up the car.

They didn’t speak for a whole minute before Sydney spoke again.

“What do you think they did to Dean?” she asked in a small voice.

“No doubt that the poor guy suffered a lot with that Butcher Carl.” Tony bit his lower lip bitterly.

“The important thing is for him to stay alive.”

 “I think they will keep him alive, but his body was probably used as the devil’s playground.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“That’s the point of view of someone who never got tortured before!” Tony muttered sharply.

“Do you see this?” Sydney leaned forward to show him something in her palm.

“This is a bullet.”

“Not just any bullet. This is the bullet that pierced my thigh. My body ejected it thanks to the protective serum running through my blood, which made the wound heal rapidly. I know that Bruce injected you guys with a replica of that serum. Dean’s wounds and injuries will heal when we get him out of there to give him a chance to heal.”

“I hope Bruce’s replica is just as effective.” Tony sighed as he headed toward the hospital and stopped in front of it. “7:30.”

“Then we will begin.”

333

Meanwhile, Brigitte looked at her watch and murmured: “They will begin now.”

She was pacing around the room anxiously, her mind was thinking about one person.

Sydney.

She didn’t know how it happened, but she was falling hard for the mysterious, strong brunette.

She knew it was too soon and that her feelings are considered a crime then. But she didn’t know what came over her. She always knew that she wasn’t normal. She never got attracted to men and tried to hide it and bury it.

Then Sydney came along and everything she tried to bury came right up.

There was just something in the way Sydney carried herself, her confidence, her fearlessness, her courage. The way she speaks. Her nature. Her personality. That made her-

“Treason!”

 The shout pierced her ears, violently pulling her out of her romantic thoughts and jerked violently then turned towards Bernard who was running into the room shouting: “The Germans are here!”

Everyone jumped up in panic while Brigitte exclaimed: “Here?! What do you mean they are here?!”

“They stormed into the subway’s tunnels from three different directions! They know we are here and they are surrounding us!”

“But this is impossible!” her eyes widened in terror.

“Not anymore! They are not searching, they are moving in a way that indicates they know where they are going exactly.”

“But how?! How did they know we are here?!”

“The strangers.” He bit his lower lip in anger. “They betrayed us!”

Her heart fell violently, the same moment they heard gun shots through the tunnels.

Which meant they had no way out.

And that history changed.

Violently.

***

Tony felt nervousness fill him as he sat inside the car, waiting for Sydney.

He knew that their mission was dangerous, and he hated the fact that he had to wait in the car, but he knew it will be dangerous if he was seen. That Holdstein might have told everyone each of the Avengers’ descriptions in case any of them were Dean’s companions.

So he just waited anxiously inside the car, looking around.

Everything seemed calm. Way too calm. But he noticed that the German’s soldiers were moving in a way that made him nervous. They were moving towards the corners, like they were taking positions to completely surround the hospital.

The way they moved was making him nervous in each passing second.

Something wasn’t right.

***

At the same time, one of the doctors in the hospital was leading Sydney towards Dean’s room, then knocked on it carefully.

“Herr Carl?” the doctor called out hesitantly. “There is one of your fellow off-“

Sydney pushed open the door before he got the chance to finish and entered the room to face Carl.

“Colonel Ralf Abler.” She said sternly.

“What can I do for you, Colonel?” Carl asked while looking strangely calm.

Sydney took a quick look around the room and felt rage rise inside her as her eyes landed on the unconscious Dean who looked absolutely terrible from what he suffered through. “I came to take the captive.”

“Take the captive? I am afraid to say that I will nee-“

Sydney pulled out the statement from her pocket while cutting him off firmly: “I have a statement from General Holdstein himself.”

Carl took the statement and read it carefully. “This is definitely the general’s handwriting and signature. But why would the general want to get the captive out so fast?”

“This is not your business.” Carl looked up sharply. “Or mine. This is the general’s orders. So obey it.”

“I don’t know-“

“The general’s orders are specific. It must be carried out as fast as possible.” then she leaned towards him adding sternly. “Why don’t you call him to be sure?”

“Call him?!” Carl let out a loud laugh. “Why would I do that?” then he pointed to a side door. “I can just ask him himself.”

When he finished his sentence, the door opened revealing the last person Sydney expected to see here.

General Holdstein himself.

 

  


	26. Chapter 26

Steve stood next to Castiel who was still staring blankly at the city from the window.

He just stood there, waiting patiently for Castiel to feel his presence. Waiting for him to be ready to talk.

When he saw the angel blink a few times, an indication that he came out of his own head for a while, Steve started to talk.

“You know, it is not your fault.” He murmured quietly. “None of this could possibly be your fault.”

Castiel didn’t give him any indication that he even heard him, until he saw the angel’s shoulders sag a little.

“I shouldn’t have let him live.” He muttered bitterly. “I should have ended him like I was ordered.”

“Cas, you should never feel guilty about being too human.” Steve stated firmly. “Being merciful and kind-hearted shouldn’t make you feel guilty. You showed more humanity than most humans I have met in my life. Hell! You are more human than Holdstein! You should feel proud about it, not torture yourself for it.”

“Me showing mercy on him might have cost us our loved ones and our history, Steve.” Castiel said in frustration while turning to look at Steve. “It was foolish from me to think that that mistake from my past won’t come to hunt me. Arthur Williams didn’t deserve mercy then and he certainly doesn’t deserve it now.”

“Maybe it wasn’t you who is supposed to stop him. Maybe it was meant all this time for his end to come by Dean and Tony’s hands not yours.” Steve rested a hand on Castiel’s shoulder and looked him in the eye. “I believe that everything happens for a reason. I didn’t die in the plane crash so I get to meet Tony. Tony was kidnapped in Afghanistan so he’d change for the better. The Glorians’ invasion nine months ago happened so we could meet you guys. Dean sold his soul and went to hell so you could be the one to save him. Every tragedy happens for a bigger, better reason. Don’t ever forget that we met both our significant others after tragedies.” He smiled gently at him then. “Maybe it was planned all along that Holdstein’s fall was to be like this and maybe not. Either way, you should never feel guilty for having a kind, merciful heart. You should be proud. I know for sure that Dean is.”

Castiel was staring intently into Steve’s eyes and believed every word he said for the first time.

Maybe everything does happen for a reason.

“Thank you.” he whispered sincerely with a small smile on his face.

Steve nodded at him with a smile of his own.

***

Alain took a deep breath as he got closer to the German intelligence headquarters and took off his small hat and held it against his chest to look like a simple, scared man. He intentionally cleared his throat two times before approaching one of the soldiers guarding the building who immediately raised his gun towards his face.

“Stop or else!” he shouted viciously.

Alain stopped immediately and pretended to shiver. “I-I didn’t do anything!”

“Don’t you know that it is forbidden to get here?!”

“Of-of course, sir! Of course! But- I just- uhm-I mean-“

“What?” the soldier shouted impatiently.

“Information! I have information for General Holdstein.”

“What kind of information?”

“I will only tell the General.” Alain insisted stubbornly.

Anger flashed on the soldier’s face and looked like he was about to hit Alain but stopped himself and seemed to be in deep thought.

“Come back in the morning, then.” The soldier stated harshly.

The answer was surprising that Alain was really shocked. “In the morning?! I told you I have very important information that the General must hear himself.”

For a moment, a lost look crossed the soldier’s face then said harshly: “I said: come back in the morning! Don’t you understand French?!”

Alain couldn’t get it. He told the soldier that he has important information the General needed to hear, but he refuses to even call the General and tell him about it!

At the same time, the General’s car was parked in front of the building and-

Suddenly, a terrifying thought crossed Alain’s mind.

A thought that made his heart beat violently.

“Alright, sir. I will come back in the morning.” He hastily told the soldier and walked away in rushed steps.

Holdstein wasn’t here.

This was the only logical explanation.

Who Bernard saw leaving the hospital wasn’t Holdstein.

It was a ruse from the start.

The General called Von Darke and made him leave the hospital with one of his soldiers who was wearing the General’s clothes and left in the General’s car, all that made Bernard think that Holdstein left.

That explained why the car was outside the building and not in its spot inside.

To trick everyone into believing that the General was inside.

Which meant that Holdstein was in the hospital.

Waiting for Tony and Sydney.

Alain sprinted until he reached the small car that was waiting for him at the end of the street and jumped inside it.

“Hurry! Please, hurry! A trap is waiting for Tony and Sydney we need to warn them before it is too late!” he shouted as soon as he got in the car.

“Oh God!” the driver exclaimed as he immediately drove the car as fast as he could.

The clock was still 7:25 when the driver drove through the streets towards the hospital and-

“Shit! What happened to you?!” Alain shouted when his body was thrown forward violently because the driver stopped suddenly.

“There is some kind of disturbance.” The driver answered nervously. “People are running everywhere. I am afraid that your friends might have already fallen into the trap.”

“No, they didn’t reach the hospital yet.” He objected looking down at his watch.

“I will ask around then.” The driver said while getting out of the car.

“Hurry up, please!”

Alain saw him stopping one of the passerby and talked to him, then his face changed into panic as he came back running towards the car. “The Germans! They stormed into the subway’s tunnels searching for the resistance’s members!”

Alain’s body jerked violently like lightening had hit him. “The tunnels! God Almighty!”

He jumped from the car and ran through the chaotic streets, forgetting Tony and Sydney, except for one thing the latter had told him.

History had started to change.  

***

“You were right, Jane.”

Sam said while he was checking the map of the time holes in deep concentration. “These symbols does describe the properties of each hole.”

“What makes you so sure?” Jane asked curiously.

“These numbers and symbols are some kind of code that is usually used in astronomical information that related to the stars’ placements inside the time void and divide them into harmonious groups, exactly like in stars’ study science.”

Jane took a look to the map then her eyes widened in admiration. “Wow, how did I not notice that?”

“Because Sam spent the past days studying astronomy like his life depended on it.” Natasha smiled in admiration at him. “I am pretty sure he will willingly study nuclear physics if it will bring Dean back.”

“Don’t rush in with your admiration.” Sam shook his head grimly. “What I said is just a general analysis. I don’t actually know what the symbols and numbers means.”

“You will.” Castiel commented confidently. “I know you will."

Sam looked up at him and smiled gratefully for his confidence in him.

“Hopefully whatever you will find will bring Stark and Winchester back.” Fury said as he entered the room.

“And Sydney.” Castiel and Steve added together making Fury turn to them sharply.

“Why do you care about her? You only met her once!” he objected.

“She didn’t try to hurt anyone.” Steve just shrugged.

“But she is a spy!”

“A spy? How is that?” Clint asked in confusion.

“Didn’t she steal information and-“

“And what?” Steve interjected firmly. “Did she try to hurt anyone with these information?”

“And you think we would have waited until she does?”

“Do what? The girl doesn’t belong to our time and she have way more advanced technology than what we have, why would she spy on us? She just wanted to finish her mission.”

“Are you still buying the whole mission bullshit thing she said? She probably made that up to get you and your soft feelings on her side.”

“She wasn’t lying.” Castiel stated firmly. “I would have known if she did.”

“Believing something was real doesn’t make it true.”

“Yes, but-“

“Wait! You can continue this discussion later.” Charlie interjected excitedly. “I just found out the second time traveler’s sex.”

“What is it?” Fury asked.

“The description I found for them fits more on…” she stopped for dramatic effect. “A man about Sydney’s age.”

***

Gun shots sounded in the subway’s tunnels making everyone panic.

“They will close in on us in a few minutes and we will have no where to escape.” Bernard muttered grimly.

“I swear if I still had one breathe in my chest after this I will not release it until I kill those strangers for betraying us!” one of the men shouted in anger.

Brigitte’s heart almost stopped. “Don’t rush into conclusions!”

“Rush?!” another man yelled. “No time for this! The Germans are going to finish us any moment now!”

She bit her lower lip bitterly as she grabbed her machine gun. “They will not take us that easily.”

Everyone raised their machine guns at the ready. “Of course. We will prove to them that our blood is precious.”

“They won’t care much about that.” A firm voice said suddenly.

Everyone turned towards it. “Alain?! How did you get here?” Brigitte exclaimed in surprise.

“Later, Brigitte, I will tell you later. Now follow me and you will know everything.”

Everyone rushed behind him silently and their eyes widened when they saw him push a part of the wall, which opened revealing a secret path.

“Come on! It will fit us all!” Alain called pointing to the path.

“Where did that come from?” Brigitte asked in confusion.

“Later! I will tell you later!” he pushed her inside firmly.

Everyone followed them inside, at the same time, the Germans stormed in the room and shot their guns everywhere as Alain closed the wall again and held his breath with his partners in the darkness.

“Where did this secret path come from? It wasn’t here a month ago.” Brigitte asked in annoyance.

“It was a farewell gift from Castiel, alright? And I was keeping it a secret since then.”

“Castiel? And why didn’t you tell me? Don’t you trust me?”

 “Do you think this is the right time for this?” he answered in frustration.

She muttered under her breath in anger as he turned towards the other men. “let’s move fast. The path will take us to one of the abandoned subway’s paths. It is safe. I just came from it.”

They all ran through the path, hearts hammering in their chests.

Especially Brigitte who even with what’s going on around her, was wondering in worry about what Sydney and Tony were facing right now.

***

Holdstein’s eyes shined viciously as he entered the room in slow steps while Carl grinned manically as he pulled out his gun then-

“Hail Hitler!”

Sydney called out in confidence as she straightened herself up and raised her arm up as she called out the greeting, then lowered her arm and asked in perfect German, her voice filled with confusion: “General! It is a shock to find you here even though I just took a direct order from you to come here and take the captive!”

Her reaction was shocking, which seemed spontaneous and threw both men off guard. The General’s brows furrowed while Carl’s eyes widened in surprise which soon turned to anger: “Listen here, buddy. If you think your ruse will-“

“Ruse?!” Sydney exclaimed in surprise. “What ruse you speak you of? I carry a statement with General Holdstein’s signature himself.” Then she pushed the statement towards Holdstein. “Isn’t this your signature, sir?”

Confusion covered Carl’s face while The General frowned as he looked carefully between Sydney’s face and the signature that matched perfectly with his.

This reaction really threw him off balance, even with his confidence in his cleverness and plans.

Sydney didn’t show any sign of hesitance or panic, which made doubt rise inside him.

He was expecting Castiel to come or one of the Avengers.

But he never saw that man before, not in life or in history books.

He is not French or from the Resistance.

The perfect German he speaks with couldn’t make him either of those.

Then who is he?

There are only two options:

Either he is a man from the future history never mentioned.

Or he really is one of the Gestapo who got a fake statement to get the prisoner out.

The second option seemed very likely.

But no, he can’t risk accepting that option.

Everyone is guilty until proven otherwise.

Firmly, he looked back at Sydney and asked “Where did you get that statement?”

Perfectly faked confusion was written on Sydney’s face. “One of your men handed it to me, sir. He asked me to move immediately.”

“Why didn’t you make sure of such a dangerous order first? Why didn’t you call me?”

“All communications are down, sir. Didn’t you know?” Sydney tilted her head in confusion.

“Down?!” the General exclaimed before rushing towards the phone and placed it on his ear.

“I don’t believe a word you are saying.” Carl snarled in anger but Sydney just ignored him as she stared at Holdstein.

The General lowered the phone with a frown. “The communications is down.” Then he paced the room in anger. “This is Castiel’s doing! His smell is all over it! I bet he is somewhere, ready to attack with a small army of the resistance’s men.” Then his eyes landed on Sydney. “Do you think he will manage to break through the hospital?”

“Actually I-“

“Maybe he will set it on fire to force us out!”

Sydney just shrugged and was about to say something but Holdstein suddenly grabbed her shoulders tightly and looked her in the eyes continuing: “Or maybe he will hit the hospital with missiles. Do you think he would do that?”

Sydney sighed. “Maybe. I don’t know. But-“

She was cut off again by Carl’s confused yell: “What the hell is missiles?!”

Sydney’s face flushed in anger as she realized her mistake while Holdstein let out a victorious laugh and pulled out his gun placing it against Sydney’s neck forcing her to tilt her head back.

“Ask the fake colonel here.” Holdstein grinned. “Who didn’t realized that missiles still didn’t exist in this time.”

Sydney stood still as she glared at the General, who his eyes landed on something behind her ear.

“Now what do we have here.” he smirked as he trailed his fingers on the small device. “You are in disguise! Now let’s see who you really are.”

He removed the device from behind her ear and she immediately changed back to her form making both men flinch violently.

“What the hell is this?! Some kind of magic?! He is a woman?!” Carl shouted in panic.

“Impossible.” Holdstein’s eyes widened. Obviously recognizing her from history. “This is impossible!”

She took advantage of his shock and used all her inherited strength to punch him in the jaw.

The punch threw Holdstein back so hard he hit the door, breaking it and fell on the guarding soldiers outside.

With his violent fall, his finger pushed his gun’s trigger releasing a bullet.

A bullet that was a silent order to every soldier to fire. 

 

 

 

 


	27. Chapter 27

When Holdstein’s bullet sounded in the area, the first one to respond to it was Tony.

It was the last push to his already rising nervousness since the moment he stopped the car in front of the hospital.

He found himself jumping out of the car while clutching his machine gun and darted towards the hospital with only one thought repeating in his mind: he needs to save Dean and Sydney.

Because of his move, every German soldier surrounding the area also started to move.

Then bullets ran down on him relentlessly.

Tony didn’t know what happened, but he felt like he was in a living hell as he fired back while making his way inside the hospital as bullets hit everything around him.

Even with the situation he was in, his brain never stopped thinking.

It was a ruse.

Holdstein never left the hospital. He fooled everyone to believe otherwise. He stayed there to trap them.

There was another thing that made him confused.

He wasn’t hit by any bullet.

Not even a scratch.

True, even with all the bullets he was firing himself he didn’t kill anyone, but this wasn’t enough reason for the Germans to not kill him.

Unless they were given firm orders not to.

Holdstein wants them alive.

The moment that conclusion crossed his mind, he stormed inside the hospital more confidently towards the staircase that will take him to Dean and Sydney.

But Holdstein wasn’t stupid to just let his men not to kill Tony.

So, five soldiers emerged in front of him with guns raised towards his face.

He raised his own gun and fired.

Bullets pierced two of the soldiers and threw them back to hit the wall, while the third was hit by two bullets. The last two attacked Tony angrily.

Tony hit the first with the heel of his gun and turned to face the other at the same moment he saw another seven soldiers running towards him.

And he knew then that he couldn’t win this fight.

***

At the same time, Carl was pulling his gun from his holster while yelling: “You whore! How dare you-“

Sydney didn’t give him time to finish, she just jumped to kick him with her right foot in the stomach then with her left she kicked his face in a graceful flip in the air.

Carl fell back to hit the window, staring at her in shock before it changed to anger.

“You will die, whore! You will die for what you did!” he screamed while rising his gun towards her and fired.

She leaned away fast and heard the bullet as it passes over her head to pierce through the chest of one of the two soldiers that entered the room then.

The soldier fell to the floor while the other one raised his gun towards her and Carl raised his again.

“You will not survive, bitch!” Carl snarled in anger.

Sydney trailed her eyes between the two guns nervously and knew that she won’t be able to dodge both bullets.

Which meant she might die.

More than hundred years of her own time.

“Stop!”

Came the firm, short order from Holdstein, who stood with his full height sternly, like he didn’t just get beaten a second ago.

Carl let out an enraged yell. “Sir! She deserves to-“

“I said: stop!” Holstein shouted in anger. “Do you understand German? Or you only respond to Russian now?”

Carl’s face flushed in anger as the hand that was holding the gun shook, while the soldier lowered his gun immediately.

Sydney didn’t waste any time, the moment the soldier lowered his gun, she punched him and rushed towards the door.

But Carl’s bullet was faster.

The bullet pierced Sydney’s back and made Holdstein to boil in anger as he slapped the gun from Carl’s hand. “You idiot!”

The bullet made Sydney jerk forward to hit the door, but she held on to it desperately as she tried to get up again.

“Don’t you ever give up?!” Holdstein yelled as he moved towards her and punched her hard at the back of her head.

Sydney fell to the floor unconscious at Holdstein’s feet.

Then a soldier entered the room and panted as he did the usual greeting. “Everything is under control, sir. The other one was taken alive.”

Holdstein furrowed his brows as he rushed to get down the stairs rapidly until he reached the ground floor. The moment his eyes landed on the unconscious Tony with bloody forehead, he grinned.

“Well, well, Tony Stark himself.” His grin widened. “I was hoping it would be you.”

***

Natasha’s eyes widened at what she found and trailed her eyes around the room carefully.

Sam and Jane were still working tirelessly on understanding the map. Charlie and Bruce were working to help Fury and Clint in finding Sydney’s partner while Steve, Castiel and Thor were moving around trying to help in any way. Rhodey had to leave an hour ago but promised to come back soon.

“Guys.” she called out, hating to break it to them what she just found. “I found something. You are not going to like it.”

Immediately, everyone were surrounding her anxiously.

“What? What is it?” Steve asked nervously.

“Since the moment Charlie found Dean’s picture in that old newspaper, I have been searching in every references and archives about WW2, I even watched every recorded films during the war, searching for anything mentioning Dean, Tony and Sydney.”

“Did you find anything?” Castiel asked impatiently.

“Unfortunately.” She murmured bitterly.

“Why unfortunately?” Sam stared at her in panic. “What did you find?”

Instead of answering, she clicked a few buttons and the screen was filled with old documents all with Holdstein’s signature on them. “These are all the papers Holdstein ever signed from the beginning of the war till its end. And I found one that held Tony, Dean and Sydney’s names.”

“What kind of document?” Steve’s heart was bounding so hard.

She clicked on a button and the document filled the screen. When everyone read it, they all gasped and flinched back like someone had slapped them.

Because that document that held the three names and Holdstein’s signature was a sentence.

A death sentence.


	28. Chapter 28

“They arrested them.”

Bernard announced anxiously as he entered the Resistance’s second hideout. His sentence made the whole room to fall silent.

“It is a trick!” one of the men said sharply. “To make us think that they don’t work with the Germans.”

“They’re not!” Brigitte growled at him.

“Then how did the Germans found us?”

“They didn’t need such a complicated plan to send the Germans to us.” Alain shook his head firmly. “Besides, Tony already knew where are we hiding, he didn’t need to come to us, he could have just went directly to the Germans.”

They all looked confused and exchanged nervous looks.

“Did they take them alive?” Brigitte asked anxiously.

“Yes, but they were visibly injured and unconscious. Monsieur Dean with his old injuries, Monsieur Tony with a wound in his forehead while Mademoiselle Sydney was shot in the back and-“

“In her back?!” Brigitte exclaimed in panic.

Alain furrowed his brows in annoyance. “Did they take them to another hospital?” he asked.

“No, they took them to the Gestapo’s headquarters.”

“Oh God! The headquarters!” Brigitte’s eyes widened in panic. “We never heard of a prisoner taken to that damned place and came out alive!”

Alain shook his head sadly while Bernard nodded in frustration.

“You are unfortunately right, Brigitte.”

“What do you mean?” her face paled as she looked at him.

“Holdstein ordered their execution. At dawn.”

Her eyes widened as her face got paler and paler, then turned sharply towards Alain.

“We have to call him.” Brigitte announced firmly. “He will be able to save them.”

“He has enough to deal with, Brigitte. He doesn’t need-“

“Call him.” she ordered in determination. “Or I will do it myself.”

***

Tony’s body jerked awake violently when freezing water was splashed on his face and he gasped as he opened his eyes.

When he did, he found himself staring at Holdstein’s smug face.

“You are Holdstein, I presume.” He glared at the General. “It is terrible to meet you.”

“Well, Tony Stark, I have to say it is lovely to meet you.” Holdstein’s smirk got wider. “You are as charming as I read about you.”

Tony was chained to the wall of a small dungeon, beside him from both sides, Sydney and Dean were chained the same way even with their injuries while Holdstein was sitting on a comfortable chair in front of him, behind him stood two soldiers who were pointing their guns at them.

“You shouldn’t believe everything you read.” Tony stated coldly.

“I don’t. But since you are here I can see for myself if it was true.” He leaned towards Tony with a glint in his eyes. “And of course, you are here somehow.”

Tony understood what Holdstein wanted, so he looked away and found himself looking at Dean.

“Dean!” he exclaimed in an overwhelming relief. “Are you alright?”

“Believe it or not, I actually am.” Dean smiled a little while wiggling his fingers, which had brand new fingernails.

Tony turned to look at Sydney and saw that she was also perfectly fine.

“Your blood has a protective serum that strengthen the immune system a hundred times at least.” Holdstein reported, staring at them intently. “Your wounds healed fast like you have spent days not just a few hours. And I am guessing the both of you replicated it from your descendant here.” Tony froze while Dean looked at them in confusion. Sydney just stared back coldly. “Yes, I know who you are. The infamous Sydney Stark-Rogers. The first spawn of the union between the Stark-Rogers and the Winchester family.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Hold up.” Dean interjected while shaking his head violently. “What the actual fuck did you just say? What union? What spawn? What the fuck?”

“Oh, yeah. Dean, I forgot to introduce you.” Tony gave him a nervous smile. “Sydney is actually our granddaughter. Apparently we are going to have kids who will fall in love, get married and have Sydney! Congratulations! We are going to be in-laws!”

Dean blinked at him then looked over at Sydney who gave him an awkward smile and waved with her chained hand a little.

“That- that actually explains a lot.” Dean blinked even more. “Well, okay, then.”

“That’s it? You are not going to panic or deny it or anything? Just like that?” Tony stared at him incredulously.

“Dude, I met my long dead mother two times before she even gave birth to me. Do you actually think these things affect me anymore?” Dean scoffed with a shake of his head. “What really shocked me in this whole thing is the fact that I got stuck with you for the rest of my life and didn’t actually murder you at some point.” Dean just shrugged while Tony let a protesting sound. “But honestly? If you believed it, then it’s true, since you are as cynical and distrustful as me. So, yeah apparently we will have a pain in the ass grandkid somehow, someday.”

“Sheesh, stop. I am drowning in your overwhelming love.” Sydney rolled her eyes.

“Yup, those are definitely my genes.”

Holdstein was watching the whole exchange with deep interest.

“What a nice family reunion.” Holdstein smirked sarcastically at them. “The most annoying, pain in the ass family in all time.” They all glared at him angrily. “You have been a thorn in my side all my life. Your descendants are the reason I left my time in the first place!”

“Wait, what?” Sydney blinked at him in disbelieve.

“It all started with you!” he growled at her while moving until he was right in her face. “The first spawn of that fucking union.”

“Well, sense you are hiding here, it means our descendants are doing a fine job.” Dean stated firmly while glaring at him.

Holdstein walked towards him with a sharp glare.

“I read a lot about you, Dean Winchester.” Holdstein growled at him. “The man who got the angel Castiel to fall for him. I should thank you! You made him weak enough for me to rip his heart out easily enough.” Then he gripped Dean’s throat and got closer to his face. “I know for a fact that Castiel isn’t here too, which means he is still in your time, waiting for his human weakness to return to him. I promise you, when I take your time ship, I will pay him a visit. I will tell him that I murdered you with my own hands and when I see the defeated, broken look in his eyes, I will rip his heart out myself and see the light leave his eyes.”

A cold shiver ran through Dean’s body and his heart was beating too fast but he hide it all behind a snarl.

“You are a fucking bastard.” Dean spit on his face, which made Holdstein growl in anger and punch him hard in the stomach.

“It is easy to show how strong you are with someone who is tied up.” Tony spat at him angrily.

“You can keep your pity principles to yourself.” Holdstein returned to his seat calmly. “Now, from what I deducted, the time ship belongs to you, isn’t it?” he turned towards Sydney who didn’t answer. The General got up again and grabbed Sydney by her jacket. “Where is it?!”

“What are you talking about?” She asked coldly.

“The time ship! The ship that brought you here!”

“Oh! That? It crashed.”

“Crashed?!” Holdstein’s body jerked violently. They all stared at his face as it got redder and redder in anger in every passing second before screaming at Sydney’s face. “Liar!” then turned around sharply. “Soldiers!”

The two soldiers immediately raised their guns towards them fast.

They stared at the guns and felt like they were seeing their last moments.

But Holdstein gestured for the soldiers to stop and turned angrily towards them. “Listen to me carefully, with one wave of my hand, those soldiers will fill your bodies with bullets mercilessly. With a wave of my other hand, another team will come here, and torture everything out of you or you will get your end in the most vicious way possible! And you should know, I signed an order for your execution at dawn. I thought that I won’t have to do it, but you are giving me no other choice.” He turned towards the soldiers angrily. “Call for the interrogation team! Tell them I need at least one confession! Or the execution will happen. At dawn.”

With that, he left the dungeon, leaving the three of them behind. Waiting for their unknown fate.

***

“No. no, that couldn’t have been their fate.”

Charlie shook her head sharply, trying to fight her tears. “They couldn’t have died like that!”

“We can’t assume anything right now.” Sam said firmly.

“What are you saying, Sam? The sentence is right in front of you!” Clint exclaimed anxiously.

“It is just a sentence.” Castiel stated sternly.

“What do you mean?” Natasha asked hopefully.

“I mean what we just saw is only a sentence to execute them. Just a sentence. It didn’t say that it was done.”

“Exactly.” Sam nodded along.

“What we know here is that Holdstein had captured them and made that sentence, but we don’t know if actually managed to do it. We are talking about three stubborn as hell people who won’t just surrender to such fate. They will fight until their last drop of blood.”

“Maybe that what happened.” Bruce muttered grimly.

“Or what will happen. We don’t know yet.”

During the whole conversation, Steve just stood there, staring at the sentence and felt… strange. He wasn’t worried or panicked when he looked at it. He just felt… recognition. It was like he saw that sentence before. Which was impossible, but this was what he was feeling.

He knew about that sentence, and he had no idea how.

***

When Holdstein got out of the dungeon and the soldiers moved to guard the door from outside, Dean rounded on Tony.

“What the hell were you thinking?!” Dean demanded angrily.

“What?” Tony looked at him in confusion.

“Why did you try to get me out? I told you to run. I have been trying to keep him away from you and Syd, and you just ran back to fall right into his hands! What were you thinking?!”

“I wasn’t just going to leave you behind!” Tony objected, looking at him like he was crazy.

“Yes, you should have! It was stupid to try to get me out! You should have stayed hidden until the ship was recharged and get the hell out of here!”

“I wouldn’t have done it and you know it!”

“Why is that?!”

“Because you are family, you stupid fucker!” Tony yelled in anger and frustration, making Dean stop and stare at him with wide eyes. “Even with all our stupid bickering and arguments, you are a brother to me! Do you think I will ever forgive myself if I just left you behind? How is that fair to me? How is that fair to Cas? What was I going to tell him if I ever managed to return to our time?! Did you care about what he will feel? Or are you just a selfish bastard who likes to sacrifice himself without thinking how was that going to affect the people around him?!” Dean froze and stared at him in awe as Tony yelled his frustrations at his face until the genius sagged and looked down tiredly. “You are family. You don’t leave family behind.” Tony muttered quietly without meeting Dean’s eyes.

They were silent for a few seconds, processing what was just had been said.

“You are my brother, too.” Dean muttered without looking at Tony. “If the situation was reversed, I’d have done the same.”

“I know.” Tony smiled a little.

“God, that was so heartwarming.” Sydney snorted from the other side of the dungeon. “Please don’t make me throw up. It will land on me in this position and that will be unpleasant.”

“Great, you are still here.” Dean sighed while rolling his eyes.

“I am not exactly happy about being here either!”

“Can you stop throwing my genes right at my face? It is freaking me out.”

“Oh, am I making you uncomfortable? Mission accomplished!”

“Can’t this all be a nightmare and I will wake up any second now with an acto-angel wrapped around me?” he groaned and slammed the back of his head at the wall behind him.

“Oh, please. We all know you are the cuddler in that marriage.” Tony rolled his eyes at him.

“I am not!”

“Need I tell you how many times I saw you guys sleeping on the couch? You are the cuddler, Ducky lips, you can’t deny it.”

“Need I tell you how many times I caught you climbing Steve like a tree in the kitchen?”

“That is only because you are a tall bastard and always place the coffee in the highest shelf! So, I have to pull Steve from whatever he was doing to get it for me and the fucker would hold it aloft above his head to make me climb him for it!”

“I am used to be surrounded by people who can reach the top shelf! It is not my fault I forgets that you can’t!”

“This is because you are a tall bastard!”

“This is the conversation you should be having right now?!” Sydney interjected in frustration. “How about we focus on how to get out of here first then finish that very entertaining conversation?”

Before they could answer, they heard loud shouts and shooting from outside the dungeon.

“What is happening?” Tony asked in confusion.

“Maybe rescue?” Dean suggested hesitantly.

“Who would be stupid enough to rescue us? We don’t exactly have friends around here.”

The shooting and the shouting was getting louder and closer. They all held their breath and expected the worse.

“Do you think they are the resistance?” Sydney asked hopefully.

“No, I don’t think so. They doesn’t care about us that much to storm into the Gestapo’s headquarters to save us.” Tony shook his head.

“Then what is going on?”

They then heard the two soldiers on the door shout and fire their guns, before they heard a slam and the shooting stopped.

They stared at the door, waiting. Then, the metal door shook violently, like someone was slamming into it from outside, trying to break through it.

“Who would be stupid enough to try to break through a metal door instead of searching for the keys?” Tony muttered nervously.

“We are about to find out.” Dean muttered back, staring at the shaking door.

Whoever was outside hit the door again and again. At the fourth hit, the door flew from the wall so hard, it hit the wall on the other side of the dungeon.

They closed their eyes to avoid the debris and dust to get into them then opened their eyes again to look at whoever was stupid enough to get here.

Their eyes widened and hearts accelerated so fast when they saw their savior’s face. The last person they expected to see.

“No.” Tony gasped sharply as he felt his heart almost burst from his chest while staring at the _very_ familiar face.

_This can’t be happening. He is probably dreaming._

Because standing at where the door used to be was none other than Captain America.

Captain America who absolutely wasn’t supposed to be here.

“Hey, fellas.” Captain America smiled friendly at them with a very nice and thick Brooklyn accent. “I heard you are havin’ quite the situation here. Do you need a hand?”

 

        

      

 

 

 

 


	29. Chapter 29

Everyone in the room were trying to focus back on what they were doing before the death sentence thing when they heard a sharp gasp and a loud thud.

They were all immediately on their feet, ready to attack, until their eyes landed on where Steve was, and their hearts stopped in panic.

Steve was laying flat on the ground, shivering violently and his eyes were wide and unfocused.

“Steve!” they screamed and ran to him, Castiel landed on his knees next to Steve’s head while the others surrounding him, and grabbed his shoulders tightly.

“Steve! What’s wrong? What’s happening?!” Castiel exclaimed in panic as he stared at Steve’s dazed face and felt his heart bound loudly in his chest. Millions of scenarios were passing through his mind.

“I-I s-see-“ Steve stuttered as his body continued to shiver violently.

“See what? Steve what’s happening to you?!” Natasha yelled, fear visible in her eyes and in everyone’s.

Steve let out another sharp gasp and his body writhed violently on the floor.

“Grab him! Grab him before he hurts himself!” Castiel shouted and they scrambled to obey. Thor and Clint grabbed his legs while the others grabbed his upper body.

Castiel gripped Steve’s face and made him look into his eyes.

“Steve, focus on me. Tell me what do you see?” Castiel said in a strong voice, when Steve struggled to focus on him he repeated more strongly. “Tell me what do you see?! I can’t help you until you tell me!”

“T-them. I-I s-see th-them.” He stuttered while scrunching his eyes shut in pain.

“Who? Who are you seeing?” Sam asked anxiously while struggling with his hold on Steve.

“T-Tony and De-Dean. Syd-Sydney. I-I see them.” His eyes snapped open wide. “I am s-saving them.” Then he let out a groan and tried to curl on himself in pain.

They all froze and stared at him in horror, while Castiel bit his lower lip bitterly.

“That is what I was afraid of.” He muttered bitterly.

“What? What is it? What’s happening to him?” Thor shouted in fear for his friend.

“Tony and Dean are encountering past Steve right now.” Castiel explained grimly.

“That can’t be! Steve then was too busy with Hydra and was nowhere near France at the time!” Natasha shook her head violently.

“Well, looks like something had happened and now forties Steve just met three people who are definitely not supposed to be there, which means he is making brand new memories that are replacing old ones in present Steve’s mind in a process that could fry his brain from its intensity!”

“No! You have to do something!” Bruce exclaimed in panic.

Castiel looked down at Steve’s agonized face, before gripping his head again while pressing his thumbs to his temples and fired up his grace.

Steve’s eyes snapped open again and let out a loud, pained scream that made all their hearts shutter, before he went lax on the floor, unconscious.

“What did you do?” Clint asked in worry.

“I put him in a coma like state.” Castiel explained regretfully. “I made his brain to focus only on the new memories past Steve is making.”

“You mean Steve is no longer here?! He is back there in the forties with Dean and Tony in his brain?” Sam asked with wide eyes.

“I am afraid so. This is the only way to save his brain. He will now just see what his past self is seeing right now.”

“And when is he going to wake up?” Natasha looked at him in concern.

“When Dean and Tony leave the forties. Only then, he will wake up.” Castiel then bit his lower lip again anxiously. “And now history is painfully changing. Past Steve’s fate is no longer certain. We have no idea when Steve wakes up, he will still be the same or not. _If_ he wakes up.”

“What-what do you mean ‘if’?” Bruce muttered carefully.

“If past Steve is with Dean and Tony, it means he will face Holdstein at some point.” Castiel grimaced grimly. “I don’t know what that insane man would do to him.”

“You mean this new path past Steve is taking might lead him to-to an untimely death?” Sam whispered in panic.

Castiel trailed his eyes on their faces grimly.

“I am afraid so.”

***

Dr. Robert Queen, expert on Biological reactions in SHIELD, looked up when someone knocked on his office door before it was opened revealing Nick Fury.

Dr. Queen was a young man in his mid-twenties, a genius in Biological reactions in living organisms. He had light brown hair that reached his shoulders, Hazel green eyes, sharp features and freakishly tall with well-built body.

He smiled calmly as he stood up to greet Fury.

“Director Fury himself in my office. That’s an honor I am not sure I deserve.” He greeted politely.

“Dr. Queen. Good thing you work late.” Fury greeted back as he made his way towards the scientist. “I need your expertise.”

“I am all yours, Director.” Robert just shrugged. Fury sat on the seat in front of him and tapped his fingers on the desk anxiously. “Is it that dangerous, sir?”

“It is.” Fury nodded grimly before leaning towards him adding firmly: “And also very confidential that it is important for it to not leave the walls of this room.”

“Of course, sir.”

Fury took a deep breath before telling him what he needs to know about Sydney and the time trip, while Robert was listening to him intently.

When Fury was finished, Robert’s eyes were wide in wonder.

“Are you sure this is not a new Sci-Fic movie or something?” Robert asked with wide eyes.

“Unfortunately, everything you just heard is very real.”

“Oh God.” He murmured in awe. “But I don’t understand how can I help in anything?”

“Like I said: we need your expertise.”

“In what?”

“In identifying the identity of the second time traveler.”

His eyebrows raised in surprise before he asked carefully: “How?”

“Bradbury with help from Dr. Banner, managed to get all the biological reactions of the second time traveler. They said that he is male, and searching all the files of those with the same descriptions will need a huge amount of time. But if you used your expertise in biological reactions in human beings, it might shrink the list a lot.” He explained as he pulled a flash drive of the information the team had gathered.

“Yeah. Maybe.” Robert murmured with a frown then took the flash drive and inserted it in his lap top. He checked the information in deep concentration. “It really looks like the biological reactions of a male.”

“Great.” Fury sighed.

“But it might be not.” He added.

“What?”

“It could be for a well-built woman or-“ he went quiet for a second. “-Or in artificial hibernation.”

“What?! I never thought of that!” He exclaimed in surprise.

“It is a very likely suggestion that could lead us to a more dangerous conclusion.”

“Which is?”

“If Sydney also was in hibernation, then these biological reactions doesn’t fit only two people. But four.”

Fury’s body jerked violently at that.

That was worse. Much worse.           


	30. Chapter 30

The three of them were completely frozen as they stared at their savior’s face.

Tony’s heart was pounding in both joy at seeing his husband and terror at seeing his husband _here._

Things are getting way too complicated in each passing second.

He was hoping that this was actually present Steve and the team managed to find a way to go back in time to save them.

He was hoping that was the case so hard.

Steve didn’t seem to notice their reaction as he rushed inside and slammed his shield at Dean’s chains, since he was closer to the door, breaking them and freeing Dean who just stared at Steve with wide panicked eyes.

Steve then went to Tony to do the same and Tony couldn’t help but stare at the beautiful face he thought he won’t be able to ever see again.

God, he was beautiful.

“Steve?” he murmured softly unconsciously and Steve looked up at him with a polite smile.

“Good. So, you already know me, no need for introductions then. What do I call you, guys?” Steve asked with a smile.

_This was not his Steve._

That thought made Tony just stare at Steve who gave him a confused look before moving on to free Sydney.

“Uhm, I’m Dean. This is Tony and Sydney.” Dean said, still wide eyed and a little panicked.

“Well, it is nice to meet you. Heard interesting things about you. Not the right time to set and talk at the moment since the whole building probably knows about my presence right now. We need to move.” Steve stated as he freed Sydney. Tony couldn’t help but notice how thick his accent was. Thicker than his Steve’s. His Steve’s accent only gets thicker when he was tired, drunk or aroused. He really wanted his Steve right now.

Just then, they heard footsteps coming towards the dungeon.

“Looks like we have no choice but to fight.” Dean muttered grimly.

“No, maybe we don’t have to!” Sydney announced suddenly, rushing out of the cell. “Follow me.”

Steve was confused for a second before following her with Tony and Dean close behind him after the latter snatched one of guns from a fallen soldier, and followed Sydney in a direction different from their way out.

“He is not supposed to be here.” Tony hissed to Dean as they ran down the corridor. “He is supposed to be busy chasing down Hydra and not to be in France saving us!”

“Do you think I don’t know that?” Dean hissed back anxiously.

“You don’t understand! He is making new memories! We don’t know how that will affect my Steve! What if we got past Steve killed?! My Steve will be erased, Dean!”

“We will make sure that doesn’t happen, okay? I promise you, we will make sure nothing happens to him.”

Just then, they reached a closed room at the end of the corridor and Sydney started to pick its lock expertly while the sound of approaching feet was getting louder.

“Hurry, Syd. Hurry!” Dean exclaimed anxiously. Three Germans appeared then and Dean raised his gun towards them immediately. “Looks like we have to fight.”

Dean was startled when Steve stepped in front of him while raising his shield to keep the bullets raining on them away.

“I think this is better than to have a face full of bullets, right?” Steve glanced back at him with a smirk and Dean just blinked back at him dumbly.

“Come on, Syd! Hurry.” Tony cried as he panicked when he saw Steve covering them from the bullets.

Sydney finished picking the lock and pushed open the door shouting: “Come on!”

The four of them jumped inside the room which Sydney closed its door again and locked it. They heard the Germans firing heavily at the closed door from outside.

“I hope you have a reason to come here, ma’am. Those men outside will only take three minutes at most before stormin’ into the room.” Steve muttered as he looked around for a way out.

“Ma’am? Seriously?” Sydney muttered to herself while shaking her head but she made her way towards the east wall of the room anyway. “I have a reason indeed.”

She pressed a part of the wall which turned on itself, revealing a large hole that lead to the back garden of the building.

“How did you know about this?” Tony exclaimed in surprise but he found himself and Dean being pushed through the hole by Steve.

“Later, sir. You can ask your friend later.” Steve said firmly while pushing them.

Sydney followed them and she closed the wall again just as the Germans broke through the door.

“There are four guards here.” Dean whispered.

“That won’t be a problem.” Steve smiled and started to lead them through the small garden and towards the four guards.

When they were about to attack, an alarm sounded inside the building that made the guards turn and lay their eyes on them.

Dean jumped on the first guard just as the other three raised their guns towards them and shoot.

Steve immediately stepped in front of Tony with his shield raised while Sydney kicked the gun from one of the guard’s hands.

Between the four of them, the guards went down easily, but when Dean looked at Sydney he saw her shoulder covered in blood.

“You were shot?!” Dean looked at her in concern but she just waved dismissively.

“Don’t worry about it. Come on, we need to get out of here.” she looked around looking for a way out.

“Don’t worry. Our way out just arrived.” Steve announced with a smile. Just then, a large military car stormed through the garden from outside at top speed and stopped right in front of them.

A dark-headed man looked at them from inside the car with a smirk.

“You guys need a ride?” the man asked with a playful smile.

“Right on time, Bucky.” Steve grinned at him as he pushed them towards the car.

Tony froze at the name and stared with wide eyes at the man who was also Bucky Barnes.

This was just getting better and better.

Dean rode next to Bucky while the others went to the back.

They saw a group of soldiers rush out of the building towards them with their guns raised.

“I think you should hurry.” Sydney called out from the back.

“Don’t you worry, pretty lady. I got this.” Bucky winked at her before darting forward with the car at full speed and driving away.

“Go after them! Don’t let them get away!”

Four soldiers jumped in a car while another two took two motor bikes and drove after them.

To Steve, Tony and Sydney’s surprise, they found Dean and Bucky letting out a loud, delighted laugh.

“This is awesome!” Dean exclaimed with a grin that Bucky returned it.

“I know, right?” Bucky let out another laugh.

Sydney just shook her head with a chuckle, while Tony felt a pair of eyes trained on him.

He turned and saw Steve’s eyes trained on his chest intently. On the arc reactor specifically.

Normally, when he found someone staring at the reactor he’d immediately try to cover and hide it. But this was Steve. Even if he wasn’t his Steve but it was still him. He’d never hide from Steve. Not the reactor. Not anything.

  Steve looked up when he realized that he was caught and his face flushed a little as he cleared his throat.

“Sorry, sir. I just-“

“Tony.” Tony interrupted him immediately.

“What?”

“It’s Tony. d-don’t call me sir. Just Tony.”

Steve smiled a little at him despite their situation and it tugged at Tony’s heart.

“Tony it is.” He said with a smile. His name will always sound amazing when Steve says it. He just always says it in a way that makes his heart melt. Looked like past Steve was not different by much. “Can I ask about that blue light that is coming from your chest? You don’t have to answer if it is private.”

Tony looked down at his chest and realized that since he was only in a T-shirt and lost his jacket at some point, the reactor’s light was very visible and exposed.

“It is a device. It-it keeps my heart beating.” He explained quietly, looking up at Steve to see his eyes widening.

“Like a battery?” he asked in surprise.

“Yeah, you could say that. I made it myself.” he couldn’t help but feel proud from the awe and wonder on Steve’s face.

“It is amazing. It makes it like your heart is shinin’ with a warm, blue light. It’s beautiful.” Steve murmured sincerely while looking at the reactor with awe written all over his face.

Tony’s heart ached at the familiar words. His Steve said that exact sentence before. When he was too ashamed of his body because of the reactor. He thought he wasn’t good enough for Steve. But the sappy idiot didn’t hate the reactor. In fact, he was fascinated by it. Thought it was beautiful. A sign of Tony’s creativity. A sign that he was a changed man.

So, yeah, Steve didn’t hate the reactor. Even a Steve who still had no idea who the hell he was.

He loves this man. And he needs to go back to him. No matter what.

 

 

                                                                                                   

 

 

 


	31. Chapter 31

It was obvious that Bucky was an expert in driving such big cars. Also, he was brave in his turns and maneuvers that the driver of the German car was getting nervous of his failure of following them, so he speeded up in an attempt to get in front of their car and stop them, but Bucky pushed the brakes suddenly, which slowed the car and confused the German driver and tried to avoid collision with Bucky’s car who turned towards his companions and shouted: “Hold on!”

He turned sharply to the right to hit the front of the other car and push it towards a nearby wall.

The car lost its balance with its sharp turn and hit the wall violently and after sharp slides and friction against the wall the car went upside down heavily.

That drove the bike riders crazy. They sped up and begin shooting at Bucky’s car.

Dean let out a delighted laugh and patted Bucky’s shoulder with a huge grin.

“Dude! That was beautiful!” Dean laughed loudly and Bucky grinned back at him in pride.

“I like you, already.” Bucky punched Dean’s shoulder with a laugh of his own.

“Oh God, their case is worse than I thought.” Sydney muttered with a shake of her head.

“You are just jealous you are not in the front seat, kid.” Dean smirked at her while holding his machine gun and moved to get his upper body through the window.

“Dean! What the hell are you doing?!” Tony yelled in panic and shot forward to grab Dean’s lower body to both keep him from falling and to try pulling him back in.

“Getting some actual work done instead of just watching!” Dean yelled back while already shooting expertly at the first bike, managing to burst its front wheel, making it jump violently in the air and hit a nearby wall sharply sending it and its driver to the ground.

The second biker diverted Dean’s bullets expertly and shot instead at the wheels of their car like he was copying what Dean did to his partner.

The car’s back wheel explode violently making the car turn sharply that the German soldier didn’t have a choice but to collide with it, so he hit its rear hard and fell out of his bike. Bucky tried to gain control over the car while Steve darted forward to help Tony pull Dean back inside the car. The car leaned heavily to the side until it hit the sidewalk and jumped violently to hit a wall then landed upside down.

***

Tony’s body hurt but not as much as he expected, which made him confused.

He opened his eyes and was shocked to find that Steve was covering him completely with his body to protect him, which made him froze in surprise. Why would Steve do that? He didn’t even knew Tony yet!

Steve groaned and raised his head after a few seconds.

“Guys in the front, you alright?” he called out anxiously. “Ma’am? You alright?”

“For fuck’s sake, don’t call me ma’am!” Sydney growled as she reconnected her dislocated shoulder expertly with a straight face.

“Language, ma’am.”

“Oh God, Steve not now.” Bucky groaned from the front seat looking alright.

When Steve was about to call for Dean the latter interrupted him.

“I’m fine! Don’t you dare to call me sir!” Dean warned as he pushed open the door and was helping Bucky out.

Steve just shook his head with a sigh and looked down at Tony who was silently staring at him frozen.

“Tony? Are you alright?” Steve asked in concern, Tony just nodded silently unable to say a word.

Steve frowned in concern and kicked open the door then crawled out while dragging Tony with him, meanwhile, Dean helped Sydney out of the car too.

Back to their feet, Steve stood in front of him while grapping Tony’s upper arms and looked him over in concern, which confused Tony to no end but he leaned against Steve anyway because he was too tired to care that that wasn’t really his husband yet. He just need his fucking comfort right now.

Steve looked down at him and their eyes held. Tony saw wonder, concern and confusion in Steve’s eyes, it made him froze and just stare back at him.

Sure, there was a spark between them when they first met in the present even with their rocky beginning. They both felt something when they touched and looked at each other. Something that felt _right_. It didn’t take them too long to come to terms with that and soon they were dating. But could this Steve had felt the same spark already? He didn’t really know if Steve was aware of his none-straight tendencies back in the forties. If he did, he probably buried it deep since it was a big no, then. But could this Steve feel the rightness of their closeness already?

Steve gave him a tentative smile which Tony couldn’t help but return it. Steve’s hands were still gripping Tony’s upper arms gently.

“Our chance of getting away will decrease painfully without a car.” Bucky muttered while looking at the car grimly.

That pulled Steve out from his trance and stepped away from Tony, leaving him cold and disoriented yet again.

“That’s right. It will take them a minute until the place is filled with German soldiers.” Steve stated firmly. “We need to get away from here.”

They started to sprint away and since Tony was still disoriented, he was grabbed by both Dean and Sydney and dragged with them as the five ran through the streets, while they heard the sounds of the Germans’ cars and soldiers everywhere.

“They are surrounding the whole area. We have no place to hide.” Sydney panted nervously.

“Yes, there is. We just need to get to it.” Steve stated firmly.

“Wait.” Dean called out suddenly, making them turn to him expectantly. “I have a plan.”

Steve looked at him for a second and trailed his eyes between him and Tony then nodded.

“Alright. Let’s hear it.”

***

Castiel was sitting on a chair he placed next to the couch they laid Steve on and just looked at the comatose soldier.

Guilt and sadness was filling him completely. This was all his fault. Steve was in this state because of him. His fate was unknown. No one knows if he will remain the same when he wakes up. _If_ he wakes up. Tony and Dean were facing dangers in the past because he didn’t complete his mission like he was told.

He was losing his husband and two of his closest friends and couldn’t do anything about it.

He felt a tentative hand being placed on his shoulder and he leaned towards it unconsciously, since he knew its owner without needing to look up.

“Cas?” Natasha murmured quietly while tightening her grip on his shoulder. “We don’t know what to do.”

His brow furrowed and he looked up at her in confusion. She had a worried crease between her eyebrows as she looked at Steve’s still form sadly. He realized that the whole team was behind her, trailing their gazes between him and Steve with heavy eyes.

“We need someone to guide us.” She murmured looking down at him with a determined look. “Steve isn’t here anymore. We’re lost.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Castiel whispered helplessly.

“Lead us.”

“What?” Castiel was startled by her answer and looked up at her in confusion.

“You heard me.” she just shrugged.

“What? Why would you want me to lead you? Why me?”

“There is something Steve and Tony didn’t get a chance to tell you and Dean.” Clint said from behind Natasha.

“Which is?”

“You know that Steve and Tony are our leaders.” Natasha started, looking at him intently. “They decided to choose who would lead us if something happened to the both of them. Someone they could trust with the team.”

“And by our votes, the choice rested on you and Dean.” Clint continued as the others nodded their heads in confirmation. Castiel’s eyes widened as he stared at them while Clint just smiled a little at him. “So, basically, Steve and Tony are the mother of the team while you and Dean are the father.” That made all of them chuckle while Castiel shook his head in bewilderment.

“No. I can’t. I am an Avenger from just a few weeks ago. I can’t just be-“ Castiel started to object.

“You guys are Avengers since the moment we met you.” Natasha interrupted firmly. “We trust you to lead us in this situation. If you want confirmation, you will have it.” She turned towards the team addressing them. “Whoever wants Cas as our leader to get our family members back, raise your hands.” Immediately, everyone in the room raised their hands, including Jane and Charlie who smiled sweetly at him while Sam looked at Castiel with a look filled with trust and need that tugged at Castiel’s heart painfully. Natasha turned back to him while raising her own hand. “We need you, Cas. Steve and Tony needs you. Dean needs you. Your family needs you.”

Castiel looked down to stare at Steve, thinking deeply before he made his decision.

He placed a determined look on his face before getting up on his feet to face his team.

“Alright, here’s what we are going to do.” He started in a firm voice. “Sam and Jane will continued to search through the files of the ship in attempt to understand the time map while Thor will assist them with his knowledge of space and stars’ placement. Charlie and Bruce will search for the second time traveler while Clint will go to Fury to get someone to help us in the search for Sydney’s partner who could help us a lot in our situation. Natasha will keep searching through the news and archives for any other mentions of Tony, Dean and Sydney. Meanwhile, I will try to coax from Steve the statues of the three of them since they are currently with him. Any objections?” They all shook their heads with smiles on their faces and he gave them a small nod.

They moved immediately to follow his orders and Natasha gave him one last smile before moving herself.

Castiel went back to his seat next to Steve and gave him a smile he knew he won’t see.

“Thanks, Steve.” he whispered quietly. “For trusting me.”

 

   


	32. Chapter 32

“I’m sorry, general, but I failed to understand completely this time.”

Von Darke said in frustration while he was talking to Holdstein who was facing away from him to stare out of the window.

“Don’t strain yourself and just obey your orders without understanding them.” Holdstein stated firmly without turning to him.

“Is that your last saying, sir?” Von Darke asked sharply.

Holdstein turned to him slowly and coldly. “What do you want to say exactly?”

“What I want to say is that your actions lately seems a little too mysterious.”

“Colonel, do you understand what you are saying?”

“Yes, I understand just fine. Especially after you send us into the tunnels and made us look like fools while we are chasing rats and reptiles without finding a single man from the French Resistance who you claimed that you got a dependable information that they are hiding there. You even gave us a map!”

“Those spies warned them before your ambush.” Holdstein stated firmly.

“Wrong, general.” Von Darke objected sharply. “Because at the same moment we were stumbling around the tunnels like fools you were orchestrating your play to arrest the spies!”

“My play?” Holdstein’s brows furrowed dangerously.

“Yes, your play! Where you looked in front of all that you are the man who arrested the spies even though at the same time you order to not to kill them no matter what.”

 The general was silent for a few seconds while burning holes in the colonel with his eyes.

“Even though it’s none of your business, Colonel, but I will tell you.” he turned back towards the window. “Those three spies are hiding a dangerous secret that could change the war. We must get that secret from them before killing them.”

“But they already fell into our hands.” Von Darke said firmly. “And we could have got that secret from them in by thousand ways, we have experts in this. But instead you ordered to let them escape easily by the help of Captain America! And prevented our men from shooting them, like you knew the Captain will come and tried to make his job much easier!”

“You obviously don’t know those three spies, colonel.” Holdstein stated angrily. “They are strong and will withstand any kind of torture we can think off. Death itself doesn’t scare them. The only way to reveal their secret is by deluding them of being free and track them secretly.”

“And how can we track them, sir?”

“We have our ways.”

Von Darke was silent for a few seconds as he stared angrily at Holdstein, who still was facing away from him.

“So these spies are hiding a secret that could change the war?” he asked dryly.

“That’s right.” Holdstein answered in boredom.

“So, surely the Führer knows about it? Or at least Herr Himmler?”

Holdstein furrowed his brows hard as he turned to the colonel.

“What do you mean, Von Darke?”

“I mean it will not hurt you if I told General Himmler, director of the Gestapo, or the Führer himself, about what you are doing here, won’t it?” The general didn’t comment but his face showed so much anger. Von Darke pull out a paper from his pocket and held it strongly. “I knew this will bother you. I knew it!”

“You have no idea what you are getting yourself into, Colonel.” Holdstein said in a low, deep voice.

“I know exactly what’s going on. I know you are after something and it is not for our country. It is personal or even treason!”

“You have gone too far, Von Darke.”

“No, I am getting closer to the truth, am I right?”

Holdstein just stared him down and Von Darke thought that his eyes almost burned with fire before the general said in a low dangerous voice: “You are not giving me another choice, Von Darke.”

The colonel took a cautious step back. “What do you mean?”

Instead of answering, Holdstein pulled out his gun so fast and shot the colonel right in the head.

Von Darke’s eyes widened in shock as the bullet pierced through his brain before he fell dead to the floor.

Calmly, Holdstein replaced his gun back in his holster. “An idiot like you will not ruin my plan.” He leaned down to take the paper from the colonel’s hand to take a look at it, before pure rage filled him. “Fucking hell!”

Because in that paper, was a direct order from Von Darke to his men to shoot Tony, Dean and Sydney in sight. Without a second thought.

***

The German captain trailed his eyes around the area in frustration.

“Spread out in the area.” He ordered his men. “Shoot them the moment you lay eyes on them and-“

Before he could finish, a crack sounded then the lights went out in the whole area suddenly.

Nervousness spread through the soldiers as they looked around.

“Light up the car’s front lights. Come on, fast!” the captain shouted as he pulled his gun out.

The soldiers rushed to their cars and reached to light them.

The moment the lights were turned on, a shield flew through the air knocking down three soldiers while another two hit the ground by Dean and Sydney who jumped down on them, then one of the drivers were thrown out of the car by Bucky.

“They’re here! Fire!”

Bucky jumped into the driver’s seat, followed by Dean in the passenger’s seat again while Steve dragged Sydney and Tony in the back as the three of them fired at the German soldiers with their stolen guns.

Bucky drove away as fast as he could and Dean fired at the German’s cars lights blowing them all up to cover the area again in darkness.

After they drove for a few minutes and were sure that they were far enough away from the soldiers they started to relax a little.

“Where to?” Dean asked looking over at Bucky.

“To a safe place.” He answered shortly while speeding up.

“Stop the car!” Tony called suddenly from the back.

Bucky immediately pressed the brakes while asking in surprise. “Stop it?”

The car stopped and everyone stared at Tony.

“What is it, Tony?” Steve asked in confusion.

“They will look for five people escaping in a stolen German military car and will be patrolling everywhere. Our best bet is to leave the car.” Tony explained while getting out of the car. Dean and Sydney following him without question.

“Man, you’re right!” Bucky exclaimed in awe as he and Steve got out.

“Good thinking.” Steve smiled at him in admiration.

Tony’s face flushed at Steve’s words and looked away to control his emotions. “Now let’s get out of here.

“Yeah, I don’t think we are going anywhere.” Dean muttered nervously while looking behind them.

Before they could ask him what he meant, lights flashed into their faces and a loud, firm German voice said: “You are surrounded. One move and we will fire!”

Behind the lights, they recognized the German uniforms.

And machine guns raised to their faces.

***

Charlie and Bruce stared with furrowed brows as they checked the ship’s biological ratings again.

“I don’t know how Dr. Queen suggested that the time traveler could be a well-built woman. The results always come back to me that they are male.” Charlie shook her head in confusion.

“He is an expert in that science. Of course he will see what computers won’t see.” Fury said firmly.

“I have to admit, the idea of artificial hibernation didn’t cross our minds.” Bruce stated looking deep in thought.

“I told you he is an expert.”

“What’s important now, what can we do we this new information?” Castiel asked Bruce and Charlie.

“Looking for the well-built woman, I guess.” Charlie shrugged uncertainly.

“Or the three time travelers who were supposedly in artificial hibernation.” Bruce added.

“Do you lean on that suggestion?” Fury wondered nervously.

“I do.” Sam announced without looking up from his work.

“You do?” Natasha asked in surprise.

He nodded while leaning back in his chair. “The ship contains four seats, which meant it probably did carry a team of four.”

“Looks like Dr. Queen is a genius, after all.” Charlie muttered.

“He is.” Fury insisted. “He didn’t see the ship’s designs and deduced the presence of four time travelers anyway. That means we have to search for three spies.”

“Not necessarily.” Castiel objected from his place next to Steve.

Fury turned sharply to him with a glare. “Dr. Queen-“

“Dr. Queen deduced that the ship carried four people. But that doesn’t mean that the four of them managed to reach our time.” Castiel cut him off firmly.

“Explain what you mean, Castiel.” Fury demanded in frustration.

Castiel’s face showed annoyance at his attitude but explained anyway. “According to what Sydney said, about being lost in time, then the crew of the ship must have faced horrors since the start of their mission until they reached our time. Some of them might have lost their lives in a time or another.” The whole room fell silent as they stared at him so he just shrugged. “This is just a theory, of course.”

“Sorry to say that, but I trust Dr. Queen more than the supernatural being who put Captain Rogers in a fucking coma.” Fury spat angrily.

Everyone tensed and turned to glare hard at Fury while Castiel just looked back at him calmly.

“I did what I have to do to save his brain.” Castiel said calmly, his face held no emotion.

“How would I know if you didn’t do it on purpose? You are not even a human. Maybe you did the ‘mistake’ of keeping that lunatic alive in the forties on purpose too!”

“You are speaking to the leader of the Avengers. Show respect.” Thor growled at him from across the room making Fury turn to him in shock.

“Leader of what? Are you insane? You let him fool you into this? I thought you are smarter than this!”

“Steve and Tony chose him and Dean as our leaders in their absence and we voted for it.” Natasha stated firmly.

“Why do you trust him?! He is an angel! They don’t care about humans. He probably just cares about his one human and would throw you all to hell without a care. ”

“Personally, I trust him more than I trust you.” Thor shrugged with a smile towards Castiel.

“Besides, this whole thing is not my fault. It is yours.” Castiel directed his words to Fury, his voice filled with ice. Fury turned towards him sharply. “What you did with Sydney caused all of this mess. My mistake was because I was too human to kill that ‘lunatic’. Yours was because you weren’t human enough to stop and actually listen to her.” Fury completely froze at his words as Castiel walked over to him until he was directly at his face. “If you looked at this mess from the start, you will realize that I was more human than you were.” Fury flinched back at his words like he was slapped. “So, you either help us clean up your mess while showing respect to everyone in this room or you leave us to bring back our loved ones that are in danger because of you in peace.”

Fury and Castiel stared down at each other until the former cracked and looked away.

“I will pay another visit to Dr. Queen and tell him your theory.” Fury muttered and stormed out of the room.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds then whooped loudly and clapped enthusiastically making Castiel look at them in confusion.

“That was so badass!” Clint laughed loudly. “I finally saw the day that someone managed to make Fury speechless!”

“If Tony was here I am pretty sure he would have built a statue for you in the middle of New York.” Bruce chuckled softly with a shake of his head.

 “Glad you finally realized this isn’t your fault, Cas.” Sam smiled at him while Natasha looked at him approvingly.     

 Castiel flushed at their words and gave them a small smile. He had to believe this wasn’t his fault. He had to bring their loved ones back safe and in one piece.

And he will not let Fury or anyone shake him. Not again.

 

 


	33. Chapter 33

For a second or two, the situation was completely frozen in that small street in Paris.

Tony saw Dean was about to raise his gun but he stopped him with a hand on his arm since he knew it will be a massacre.

“It is funny running into you here.” a British, female voice said from behind one of the guns which made both Steve and Bucky relax immediately when a short, pretty brunette stepped into the light.

“Peggy.” Steve murmured with a smile as he walked towards here.

Tony’s blood ran cold and he felt his heart shatter as he immediately looked away from the smile on Steve’s face.

The smile that was usually directed at him.

Steve didn’t feel any spark or anything towards him. He was probably just curious about the strange future man.

That shouldn’t hurt him like that. Steve wasn’t his in here. But his heart couldn’t really handle all of this. Couldn’t handle to see Steve smiling his special smile to someone else that wasn’t him.

“You were late.” Peggy said with a raised eyebrow.

“Yeah, things got a little complicated.” Steve shrugged sheepishly.

Brigitte, suddenly, appeared from behind the now lowered guns and rushed to wrap her arms around Sydney, ignoring everyone’s looks.

Sydney froze in surprise, but then also wrapped her arms around her with a small smile on her face.

“What the hell is going on?” Dean asked while looking around in confusion. “Who’s she?” he pointed at Peggy then at Brigitte. “And who’s she?”

Tony looked up and realized that the men dressed in German’s uniforms were in fact from the French resistance, when he looked back at Steve he saw him talking with Peggy quietly with a fucking dopey look on his face.

Tony looked away again to face Dean who noticed his crumpling face.

“These are the French resistance.” Tony explained to the still confused Dean.

Dean looked over at Brigitte and Sydney with a raised eyebrow then back at Peggy and Steve. “And she is?”

“This is… Steve’s first crush or love, I don’t know.” Tony shrugged casually, trying to look nonchalant about the whole thing and failed miserably according to the look Dean was giving him.

“Dammit, Tony.” Dean gave him a pained look that Tony immediately looked away from to see that Peggy was approaching them with Alain and Steve while the former was glaring daggers at Brigitte and Sydney.

“Sorry for scaring you earlier. We weren’t sure who you were from the darkness.” Piggy addressed them with a smile. “My name is Peggy Carter. I hoped to meet in a better situation. What should I call you?”

Tony just stared back. He knew he didn’t have the right to hate her. She didn’t do anything wrong. Steve wasn’t his yet. He needed to keep reminding himself of that.

“Dean. This is Tony and Sydney.” Dean introduced for the second time today. “Sorry to point this out but I think we shouldn’t stay here for long.”

“You are right. Come on, we will take you to a safe place.”

***

They managed to reach the Resistance’s hideout in record time.

The moment they were safe, Brigitte took Sydney to a secluded corner and were talking while standing very close to each other.

Meanwhile, Tony was sitting in another corner, hugging his knees close to his chest as he stared at Steve who was laughing and smiling brightly with Bucky and Peggy.

Steve’s smile was… brighter somehow. His laughter was easier and lighter. Looking to be more free and cheerful. It ached Tony’s heart.

This Steve didn’t have the lingering sadness and grief in his eyes. His smile was brighter and lighter.

This Steve didn’t have panic attacks from the cold. Didn’t have the overwhelming weight of grief from losing his world on his shoulders.

_This Steve didn’t need Tony._

Tony felt dread spreading through him. Suffocating him.

Steve would have been happier if he didn’t get on that plane. Would have a much better life than the one he had with Tony.

_He would have been better without Tony._

“I can literally hear you think and I am telling you to stop.” Dean interrupted his thoughts while sitting next to him on the floor.

“I am not thinking about anything.” Tony muttered without meeting Dean’s eyes.

“Yeah, I totally believe you.” he snorted and Tony could literally hear his eye roll.

Tony sighed and was quiet for a few seconds. “If-if you knew that Cas would have been happier if he never met you and you have a way to go back in time and do it. Would-would you?” he asked, still not meeting his eyes.

He could feel Dean’s eyes trained on him intently.

“Probably.” He finally answered shortly. “But I know for a fact that Cas wouldn’t have been happy.”

“How’d you know?”

“Cas would have rebelled one way or another, even without my interference.” Dean explained with a soft smile. “He is different than the other angels. He never felt that he belonged with them. He actually have a heart. His heart didn’t came from me. He always had it from the start. A heart that always loved humans. So, he would have rebelled sooner or later. At least, when he rebelled for me, he eventually had a home and a family that loved him. If he rebelled on his own, he wouldn’t have lived long.”

“Yeah, that makes sense.” Tony sighed and looked back at him sadly.

Dean nudged him with his shoulder gently. “And you? You actually think Steve would have been happier without you?”

“Look at him, Dean.” Tony looked down depressingly. “Look at that bright, beautiful smile. Sure, my Steve smiled a lot, but you can always detect the glimmer of sadness in his eyes.” he hugged his knees closer to his chest. “Steve isn’t always alright. He sometimes panics when the cold air of the freezer hit his face! That’s why he never opens it anymore and I know you noticed that since you cook with him every day. He sometimes feels like the future is rejecting him. During one of his attacks he told me that he should’ve died in that crash. Sure, he said that in his first year after he was defrosted, but that sentence keeps echoing over and over again in my nightmares.” He gazed up at Dean hesitantly. “I have a chance to take away Steve’s suffering if I told past him to avoid getting on that plane. Even if it meant I will lose the love of my life.”

Dean stared at him intently while biting his lower lip thoughtfully. “Tony, you can’t make that decision for Steve. It is not fair.” Dean started gently. “Do you have any idea what will happen if you changed such a major thing in the past? Steve’s discovery in the ice was one of the most important occurrences in the present. What if without Steve, the Avengers will lose in the battle of New York because their leader was never there? What if there was no one to stop the three helicarriers from killing millions of people? What if because you never had Steve in your life to anchor you, you will end up as a super villain or something that destroyed the world? Can you imagine the amount of things that could end differently and badly? This isn’t just about you, Tony. You can’t change the past. No matter what your reasons are.” he took a deep breath before continuing. “How’d you know that Steve would be happier in the forties? We both know by now that Steve wasn’t exactly straight even in the past. Yes, he would have married Carter at some point and would have been happy enough. But he will always hide that part of himself. Or maybe he will die of a disease that its treatment was yet to be discovered, a few years after the war.” He turned fully towards Tony and made him look into his eyes. “Every one of us faced a tragedy that proved to be a turning point in our lives. Changed us into better versions of ourselves. If I never sold my soul for Sam and went to hell, I would have never met Cas. If Cas didn’t rebel, he would’ve probably died in the apocalypse later. If you weren’t kidnapped in Afghanistan you wouldn’t have been the man you are now. You wouldn’t have been Iron Man. You would have never met Steve and your family. If Steve never went on that plane, he would have never met you. Believe or not, you guys are the happiest couple I ever met. I even dare to say that you are soulmates and that shit. Everything that happened in both your lives was to lead you guys to each other. How can you not see that? And why would you ever want to fix something that isn’t broken?”

Tony was staring at Dean with huge eyes. Dean never talked that much. Never talked about feelings. Dean believed every word he was saying and it was blowing Tony’s mind.

Dean’s eyes flickered to where Sydney was, who was still talking quietly with Brigitte. Both of them with soft smiles on their faces and absolutely no space between them.

“Looks like our grandkid is as straight as a slinky.” Dean commented with a smirk making Tony let out a chuckle.

“Yeah, it is probably something in the genes.” Tony chuckled as he too stared at her.

“See her?” Dean leaned towards him while looking at Sydney with a soft smile. “She is brilliant. Amazing. A badass. We made that. We made her.” He turned his eyes back to Tony. “This is a good thing, Tony. She is a good thing. She is our future. An amazing future. You change that, she will be erased along with her father. You will destroy a perfect thing trying to fix something that doesn’t need fixing. We all have our own set of issues, problems and panic attacks, but we will be fine. Steve is strong. With you, he will be fine. Without you? You will both fall eventually even if you were separated by decades, one way or another.”

Tony watched Sydney as she laughed about something. She had Steve’s laugh, Dean’s expressive eyes, Castiel’s warmth and his own smile.

She was perfect.

Dean was right. She is a good thing. He had an amazing future waiting for him with Steve by his side.

He wanted that future. His Steve was waiting for him back home to have that future with him. And he damn will have that future.  

Dean was right. They will be fine.

    

 

 

 

  

 


	34. Chapter 34

“Tell me about your family.”

Brigitte said with a small smile. Sydney tilted her head in confusion. “I want to know you.”

“Well,” Sydney started with a soft smile. “My parents were in love since maybe the moment they were born, much to my grandparents’ joy. I have a little brother who is a walking nightmare, but I love him anyway.” Brigitte chuckled as she watched her talk intently. “I have a big family. We’re pretty close. They made me the leader of a team of superheroes who are pretty much my brothers and sisters.”

“A team of superheroes.” Brigitte whispered in awe.

“Yeah, the future’s threats are more dangerous, so we’re needed to keep the world safe.”

 “And you are their leader?”

“Yeah.” Sydney blushed at the admiration and awe that she could see in Brigitte’s eyes.

“I need to ask, what is your relation to Castiel?” she stepped even closer to Sydney. “I can’t help but see the resemblance between you.”

“Can I tell you a secret?” Brigitte nodded excitedly. “He is actually my grandpa.”

“But how? Dean and Tony are close friends with him and they don’t look old enough to have you!”

“Because we are from different times. I am actually from a further future than theirs.”

“Oh! So, that’s why you weren’t in the two pictures Tony has.” Brigitte stopped and frowned a little as she thought about something. “I didn’t see except two women in one of the pictures. Castiel did seem to be very close with Dean and-“ she stopped as her eyes widened in understanding. “Oh my God, Dean isn’t just a close friend to Castiel, is he?” Sydney shook her head as she watched her with a smile. “And I noticed the Steve in the second picture was giving Tony a too intimate look, too. That means that Steve and Tony in the future are also-“

“Yes, they are.” Sydney confirmed with a small nod, glad that Brigitte was figuring everything out.

Brigitte turned her eyes towards where Dean and Tony were sitting against the wall. Dean was rolling his wedding ring in his finger absent mindedly as he stared up at the ceiling in deep thought, while Tony was gazing at Steve, who was still talking with Bucky and Peggy, with sad, longing eyes.

“There are a lot of things I still don’t understand.” Brigitte shook her head in awe and looked up at Sydney. The brunette was taller than her with maybe five inches or so. She doesn’t know why she finds that exhilarating. “But there is one thing I need to make sure I understood completely. In the future, this is okay? That it is not necessarily to be a man and woman? It is okay?”

“Yeah. It is okay.” Sydney confirmed gently. “They can even get married. Have a family. Have a nice life.”

“That sounds amazing.” Brigitte was now a few inches away from Sydney. “So, you’re okay with it?”

“More than okay.” Sydney whispered as her eyes fell on Brigitte’s soft lips then back up to her eyes.

Brigitte leaned in the last few inches and then they were kissing. And it was amazing. Everything she ever wanted and needed. Better than she imagined.

Sydney pulled away and Brigitte found herself trapped in her intense eyes.

“Is there somewhere more private?” Sydney whispered while licking her lips.

“Yes. Let’s go.”

***

Tony noticed Sydney and Brigitte sneaking out of the room while sending each other secretive smiles. He nudged Dean’s shoulder with his to get his attention.

“Looks like Syd is going to get some action.” Tony murmured with a smile.

Dean looked over to where he was pointing and smirked a little.

“That’s probably my genes in their natural charming habitat.” Dean commented with a cheeky grin.

“Are you crazy? These are definitely my genes. In case you forgot, I was a famous playboy before Steve.”

“Sam used to call me a man whore before Cas.”

“And you are happy about that?”

“It sounds better than ‘Playboy’.”

“No it doesn’t-“

“Hey, Dean!” he was interrupted by Bucky rushing towards them with a smile.

Tony had to admit that it was really painful to look at this Bucky. The Bucky he met in the present was a broken version of this one. When he managed to break free from Hydra’s control, he went off the radar until Steve managed to track him with help from Tony. But the man refused to come to the tower with them. Saying that he still didn’t trust himself and needed to sort things out on his own first. It broke Steve’s heart but he understood. They still didn’t hear from him since then.

This Bucky was completely different. Full of life with an easy, friendly smile. A Bucky who still didn’t get on that train and got his life ripped away violently from him.

So it really hurts to look at him, knowing the dark future waiting for him.

Dean looked up at Bucky when he reached them, titling his head at him in question.

“I told Peggy that you know the angel Castiel. She is fascinated with him from what she heard about him. Come on, we want to hear some exciting things.” Bucky grinned as he gripped Dean’s arm and pulled him to his feet.

Dean was confused and looked back at Tony who just shrugged with a smile. Dean chuckled and let Bucky drag him to where Peggy was waiting patiently with Steve by her side.

Tony made the mistake of looking at Steve to see him staring intently at him.

He immediately looked away from his stare and got up on his feet to find an empty tunnel he could set quietly in.

Which was weird. He usually hated the quiet since the whole thing with the portal in New York. He didn’t deal with quiet places very well since then. But right now, his brain was doing all the noise he needed. He just wanted to sort through his erratic thoughts and stay away from Steve so he wouldn’t do anything stupid like shouting his love for him or something.

He was stopped by a hand placed on his shoulder, he turned to look who it belong to and groaned internally.

Looks like that even past Steve could tell when he was trying to escape from him.

“Hey, are you alright?” Steve asked with real concern. “You look unsettled from the moment we met up with Peggy and the resistance. Is everything alright?”

“Yup. Everything is peachy. Superb even.”  He muttered while shrugging the hand off his shoulder, even though he desperately wanted it touching him, and tried to continue his escape.

“Then why are you avoiding me?” Steve demanded but the hurt note in his voice was what made Tony stop and turn to look at him. He could see hurt and confusion in Steve’s beautiful eyes. How does he always manage to hurt Steve one way or another?

“I am not avoiding you.” he denied weakly.

“You are literally trying to escape from me right now.” then his face crumpled as he seemed to get suddenly nervous. “Did I- did I make you uncomfortable? I didn’t mean to-“

“No! God no. You didn’t. Believe me.” Tony rushed to reassure him.

“Then what is it?”

“I was just giving you some space. You seemed to be enjoying your time with your best friend and your… girlfriend. Didn’t want to intrude.” Jealousy burned in his heart by just saying the word.

“Oh, no. Peggy and I are not- we’re not-“ Steve blushed and looked away.

“You’re not?”

“No. We’re not. Not really.” Steve just shrugged, still looking away but his eyes landed on Tony’s hand and frowned. “You’re married?”

Was that disappointment in his voice and he was trying to hide it? It certainly sounded like that.

“No. Well, yes. But not currently.” This conversation was making Tony tired and sad.

“I’m sorry to hear that. She must have been really special.” Steve was wording his words carefully. Like he was fishing for information or something.

“Yeah, he was.” Tony answered looking intently at Steve’s eyes to see his reaction to his words.

“Oh!” Steve blinked with wide eyes. “That’s-that’s okay? From where you came from, I mean?”

“Yeah. It is.” Tony was vaguely aware of the looks Steve was giving him. So even this Steve felt that spark? Felt that rightness? A Steve who obviously was fighting his non-straight tendencies for the sake of not being prisoned?

Was Dean right? Are they really Soulmates that a touch could make them feel things even from first meeting?

“That sounds amazing.” Steve murmured, looking both happy and bitter about that fact. “Uhm, Brigitte told me you have pictures with me in them. Can I- can I see them?”

Well, shit. That can’t end well.

But he could never deny those beautiful eyes. He could never say no to Steve.

He sighed while pulling out his wallet and grabbing the Christmas one first to hand it to Steve.

Steve’s eyes widened as he traced the picture in awe.

“I never saw a colored photo with such vivid colors.” He muttered in wonder. “How far are you in the future?”

“Far enough.” Tony murmured quietly as he handed the other photo.

Steve’s brow furrowed when he looked at the second one. Obviously noticing the lovesick look on his face that was directed at Tony then, if the looks he was giving Tony right now was anything to go by.

“I look young in both pictures.” He murmured in confusion. “Maybe a handful of years older. But you seem to be pretty far in the future. How is that possible?”

This conversation was hurting him. He wanted a hole to swallow him and take away his pain. This man will be the death of him. This was too much for his fragile heart.

“I can’t tell you how.” Tony muttered grimly and sadly. “The only thing I could tell you is that you’ll be okay. You’ll have an amazing life. A family that will love you with all their hearts. A partner that-that will adore the life out of you. You’ll be a hero, Steve. The whole world will respect and love you.”

“I will have a family? And a partner?” Steve whispered in awe, his eyes widening in wonder. “And I will be a hero?”

“Yes. You will have all that. You’ll be okay. You’re everyone’s hero. My hero.” That made Steve’s face blush a little as he stared at Tony with wonder. Then, Tony pointed at the Christmas photo. He knew he was probably fucking up the future right now but he couldn’t stop himself. “This is your family.”

Steve looked down again at the photo, then turned to look back at Bucky and Peggy, probably wondering why they weren’t in the photo too and it broke Tony’s heart even more.

Steve’s eyes trailed on the second photo and then down to Tony’s wedding ring. Tony knew that his brain was working hard. That he was probably understanding what Tony didn’t dare to say. What he wished to say. But he didn’t want to drive Steve away. Didn’t want him to reject his future. But at the same time, he wanted him to make the choice on his own. Not forced against his will.

Steve finally looked up to Tony’s eyes. A soft look in his eyes as a hesitant smile was settling on his face.

“Well,” he started softly. “I guess I will have to take your word for it, Tony.”

 

 

    

 

  

    

 

 

 


	35. Chapter 35

“So, tell me. What is he like? All angelic and perfect? Can he feel human emotions?”

“Does he eat? If he does what is his favorite food?”

Peggy and Bucky questioned with an excited glint in their eyes, which Peggy tried to hide behind her cool demeanor.

“Well, Cas-Castiel is not perfect.” Dean started with a soft, sad smile at the thought of his angel. “He has faults, but these faults are what makes him who he is. Makes him human. He is kind, gentle and sweet. Also, sassy and sarcastic as all hell but I suspect he got that from me. He has this deadpan humor that came naturally to him in a hilarious way. Stubborn. Probably the most stubborn person I ever met and he will do what he set his head on even if everyone told him to stop. To everyone else, he looked like the cold, emotionless angel they thought him to be, but if they cared enough to know him they will see the adorable, sweet dork he actually is that eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches like his life depended on it. If he saw you as a part of his family, he will willingly die for you.”

Dean had to stop himself because he knew he could talk about Castiel for hours non-stop and also he was aware how his heart was hurting with the fact that he might never see his sweet, dork angel ever again. He wasn’t sure he will survive long if that happened.  

Also, he obviously didn’t control his face while talking about his husband from the looks Peggy and Bucky were giving him. Shit. He shouldn’t have talked in the first place. He never managed to hide his emotions when he talked about the stubborn idiot.  

“You seem pretty close to him.” Bucky commented with a smile. No trace of judging in there.

“Yeah, you have no idea.” Dean smiled crookedly at him. His smile was a little bitter.

“Brigitte told me that he spoke a lot about a Dean.” Peggy stated with a smirk. “He continually mentioned him in every conversation. I am guessing you are the same Dean?”

 “Uhm, I am pretty sure I am the only Dean he knows.” Dean flushed a little but he was childishly pleased to hear that Cas talked about him even when he wasn’t around.

“It is good to know that he is living a happy life.” Peggy smiled kindly at him. “He deserves it. He helped the resistance a lot and gave them hope. They really needed that. He is a hero.”

Dean felt pride spread through him. He always loved it when people praised his angel. He deserved it. He deserved every ounce of love and respect in the world. Because Cas is a hero. He is Dean’s hero. Even if the angel didn’t believe it himself.

Dean knows that Castiel was probably blaming himself for this whole situation right now. He won’t be Cas if he didn’t. But Dean doesn’t blame him for anything. He knew Castiel’s kind, merciful heart was what kept him from killing Holdstein. He was so fucking proud about him for it. Even if that insane man was running havoc right now. Castiel obviously ignored heaven’s orders and kept Holdstein alive.

His little rebellious dork.

God he missed him. Missed his beautiful, loving eyes looking at him. Missed his warm smile that was reserved for only Dean. Missed his voice saying his name, his name always sounded better when Cas says it. He misses his warmth, his comfort, his constant presence by Dean’s side.

Without him, he just feels empty and cold. He was barely managing to keep himself sane for Tony and Sydney’s sakes. They need a rock to lean on. Like Cas was always his rock.

“Yeah.” Dean agreed with a soft, sad smile. “He is a hero.”

***

“The Germans are still spreading through the streets looking for you.”

Bernard announced a few hours later as he entered the room.

Tony and Steve joined Dean with Peggy and Bucky a while ago. Dean noticed the way Tony looked distracted and disoriented while Steve was staring at Tony intently never looking away from him unless someone talked to him directly.

Sydney and Brigitte emerged a little after that with flushed faces while they kept sending each other soft, sweet smiles, which Alain noticed and made him on edge and enraged.

Apparently, his two partners were both having relationship crises. Well, he couldn’t have one too since his husband was fucking seventy years away!

However, He will take a relationship crises everyday if it meant he will at least see his angel again.

When Bernard announced his presence it pulled them back to their current situation.

“They still didn’t get tired of us?” Dean frowned in displeasure.

“Did you know that the Nazis had a full map of the subway’s tunnels with them when they attacked us?” Alain announced dryly.

“A map?!” Tony exclaimed while turning towards him sharply. Then shared a tense look with Dean and Sydney.

“But in this time, there wasn’t any full map for the subway’s tunnels.” Sydney stated in confusion.

Everyone looked between the three of them in confusion.

“What does that mean?” Bucky wondered looking lost.

“It means that Holdstein still has access to a very detailed information source about this era.” Tony muttered seeming to be talking more to himself than them.

The others didn’t really follow what he was saying.

“It is hard to catch up with your advanced talk, Tony.” Steve stated looking at him helplessly. “I don’t know how we can help.”

“On the contrary, Cap.” Dean objected. “We complete each other perfectly. We have the brains and knowledge about history and you have the power and numbers. That will help us to accomplish a lot.”

“Like what?” Peggy asked with interest.

He was silent for a few seconds, thinking.

“What do you think about a perfectly planned raid that will hit the Germans hard?” He said slowly while looking at them carefully.

Nervous interest was written on everyone’s faces, even Tony and Sydney as the former asked carefully: “Dean, do you mean what I think it is?”

“Exactly, Dude!” Dean confirmed enthusiastically. “We attack where we were kept. The Gestapo’s headquarters.”

Everyone froze at his words and stared at him with wide eyes.

“This is another trap.” One of the resistance’s men shouted angrily.

“Let’s just hear them out.” Steve stated firmly.

“It is a dangerous risk anyway.” Alain commented with furrowed brow.

“It is the perfect time to strike! With everyone out looking for us.” Dean pointed out.

“The Germans are not naïve or stupid, or they won’t have invaded all of Europe. Sure they let their monsters after you, but they will never leave their headquarters unguarded.”

“Of course, but they are currently waiting the return of their men, and if you went with your German uniforms, you will manage to fool them for a while and surprise them long enough to take over the building before their other men came back.”

“I am not sure this will be enough.” Bucky commented carefully. “The Germans fights viciously, when they’re facing danger. Breaking into the building won’t be easy.”

“Not if we attacked from two places at once.” Sydney stated, catching on to Dean’s plan.

“How’s that?” Brigitte asked in interest.

“There’s a secret entrance we managed to escape from. A group of us can get through it, at the same time another group will attack the main entrance. This will certainly disorient the Germans when they are forced to fight in and out at the same time.”

“Besides, it will be a mean hit to the Nazis and everyone in Europe will know about it. Which will prove to everyone that the French Resistance is still strong and fighting.” Tony added excitedly.

Tony’s words seemed to hit them right at home as they all imagined the feeling of giving the Germans such a painful hit which will certainly prove their strength to the world.

“That does sound pretty nice.” Steve nodded, impressed and looked over at Alain expectantly.

“Fine. We agree.” Alain spoke firmly for his men.

“Great.” Tony grinned excitedly.

“Well, then.” Steve started after he smiled at Tony’s excited grin. “I guess you are the leader of this raid, Dean.”

Dean was taking aback as he saw everyone looking at him expectantly waiting for his orders.

Captain America just placed him in charge. That wasn’t scary at all.

“Alright.” he took a deep breath. “In that case, we will divide into two teams. A team containing one third of the men, led by Sydney and St- uhm, Captain Rogers, due to the former’s knowledge about the secret path. The other team will be with me and Tony, to break through the main entrance. We will set our watches to determine a certain time for the attack. It’s 4 AM. We will reach the headquarters at 4:15, and the breakthrough will begin the moment we are there. When the shooting starts, the first team will break into the secret entrance and attack the Germans inside.”

“Nice plan.” Bucky commented appreciatively.

“Of course it is. The man is a genius in the field.” Tony grinned while clapping Dean on the shoulder proudly.

“From what I heard, you’re a genius, too.” Steve smiled at him, making Tony flush at his compliment.

“Let’s go.” Dean said in determination. “We don’t have all night.”

  

    

  

 

  

 

 


	36. Chapter 36

While the men were getting ready and busy redressing in their German uniforms, Tony and Dean stood in a corner observing while Sydney moved around checking everything out.

“So, what happened between you and Steve earlier?” Dean asked while looking around.

“What? Nothing happened. Why do you think that something happened?” Tony countered, looking defensive.

“I saw Steve when he was talking to you a few hours ago, and since then, you look disoriented and distracted while Steve keeps staring at you with a contemplating look in his eyes. What did you say to him?”

“Nothing, dude. Don’t worry I didn’t tell him he was going to commit suicide by sending a fucking plane into the ocean and be frozen for seventy years inside it.” Tony sighed tiredly, but didn’t meet Dean’s eyes when he turned to look at him.

“What _did_ you say?” Dean raised an eyebrow at him, obviously will not back down until he gets an answer.

“Fine. He asked to see the two pictures in my wallet and I couldn’t say no to him. He asked a lot of questions I didn’t how to answer and I just told him he is going to have a family and a nice life.” Tony looked away nervously. “And I think he suspects that there is something between me and his future self.”

“Dammit, Tony!”

“It is not my fault! Each one of the four of us in the picture is wearing his dopey, lovesick face! I am pretty sure Steve knows how his lovesick face looks like.”

“Which was why you shouldn’t have shown it to him in the first place.”

“I never was able to say no to him.”

“Tony.” Dean sighed before facing him dead on. “We can’t mess with the past even more. Everything we’re doing here is affecting the present one way or another. As much as it hurts, Steve is a very important part in history. We’re already messing with how his life should have went. The only way to salvage it and try to put him right back to the road to his fate, is for us to get rid of Holdstein and get the hell out of here, so Steve can go back to what he was doing safe and sound.”

“And to his painful fate.” Tony twisted his lips in sadness.

“To his family.” Dean corrected firmly.

“And what about him?” Tony gestured towards Bucky who was laughing about something with Sydney and Steve. “He didn’t deserve his painful fate. He didn’t deserve to lose his life, his arm, his friend and himself. The only fault he did was following his best friend in trying to save the world. He didn’t deserve such fate.”

Dean looked at Bucky sadly. He really liked the guy. He didn’t deserve what happened to him.

“You’re right. He didn’t.” he admitted with a sigh. “But we don’t know the consequences of erasing the Winter Soldier from history, Tony.”

“You know what would happen if he was erased? Lots of people would have been still alive! Including my parents!”

Dean stopped and looked at Tony’s desperate face. Tony told him about his parents’ death. That it was by the Winter Soldier. Steve told Tony about it when he found out. Told him before asking for his help to track Bucky down. Tony forgave him. He knew that he was mind controlled then. But sometimes it still hurts to think about it. 

For all his issues with his dad, Tony still cared about him. He’s been conflicted about that all this time, and never had a chance for any closure. Because Howard died before that could happen, and before Tony could prove his worth to him, as all sons wish to do.

Imagine living for 20+ years with the notion that your dad was driving the car when it ran off the road and killed both him and your mother. Imagine blaming your dad for that, and feeling awful about that, but knowing your dad’s reputation for drinking, going back to blame him again. And well- Tony had issuesTM going into all this at age 17.

Steve thought that he deserved to know. Deserved to know that his father wasn’t to blame. At least for this one horrible last thing. Even though, it meant 20+ wasted years. Literally, because that tragedy plunged young Tony into his era of alcoholism and fecklessness. Of feeling helplessly conflicted and enraged at Howard. All because the story Tony Had believed was _wrong_.

He forgave Barnes the moment the man looked him in the eye when they found him and told him he was sorry. That if he wished to kill him right then and there, he won’t fight him.

Tony forgave him. For himself. And for Steve.  

For the first time ever, he was glad for Bucky’s hazy memory in the present. From what he gathered, a large amount of his life he still didn’t manage to remember. He probably won’t notice the change of those memories right now since the old ones weren’t stable enough in his mind in the first place. So he wasn’t suffering in the present from their presence here.

The only one suffering from this was his Steve.

“I understand, Tony.” Dean murmured sadly. “I do. But we can’t. I’m sorry, but we really can’t. That could fuck up our present. We might go back and we won’t recognize our own home. It might be no longer there.”

“I know.” Tony bit his lower lip bitterly and looked away. “You’re right. We shouldn’t. I guess there is things that are just meant to happen.”

Dean looked at him sadly for a few seconds.

“Why did you forgive him?” he whispered softly, looking genuinely interested in knowing Tony’s answer.

“He apologized.” Tony just shrugged, without meeting Dean’s eyes. “He was sincere about it. And he was Steve’s friend for all his life. I wasn’t just going to murder him after Steve just got him mostly back. He didn’t deserve that.” Dean was smiling at him in wonder which made Tony look at him in confusion. “What?”

“You have a good heart, dude.” Dean grinned at him. “Don’t believe anyone who says that you don’t. You might be a pain in the ass and a little shit. But you’re one of the best guys I’ve ever known.”

“Don’t get all sentimental on me, Chisel Chest. Next thing I know, I’ll find you hugging me or something, and then we will braid each other’s hair.” Tony snorted but he was just trying to hide how Dean’s words affected him and he knew Dean understood what he was doing.

“Just take a compliment, Tin Can.” Dean rolled his eyes with a shake of his head.

“Do you want me to do your make up too, Ducky Lips?”

“Shut up, Little Prick.”

“You’re hurting my feelings, Buster Brown.”

“How the hell do you come up with all these nicknames?”

“It is called a talent, Kin doll.”

Dean’s response was cut off when Steve approached them, smiling an amused smile, indicating that he caught the last parts of their conversation.

“Hate to interrupt that very nice conversation.” He started in amusement, a very nice smile on his lips. “But I came to tell you that everyone is ready to move.”

“Perfect.” Dean straightened, getting back to the situation at hand. “You and Sydney should probably head out with your group of men to your position.”

“Will do.” Steve nodded, his eyes trailed over towards Tony and hesitated a little before reaching over to touch Tony’s wrist lightly. “Be careful out there.” Steve whispered softly, eyes trained on Tony’s face.

Tony looked up at him in shock and felt the familiar electricity and thrill that always came from Steve’s touches, rush through him.

“You too, Cap.” He also whispered with a small smile.

Steve nodded at him and gave him one last long look before stepping back to head towards Sydney to move out.

Dean trailed his eyes between Tony and Steve’s retreating back and sighed heavily.

“God, I miss Cas.” he murmured sadly. “You and Sydney each have someone who actually cares about you right now, and I am considered the third wheel.”

“Why would this Steve care about me?” Tony asked in confused sadness as he also stared at Steve. “He barely even know me. Besides, he has his eyes on-on Carter anyway. He was just being nice.”

“You’re really dense, sometimes.” Dean just shook his head and headed towards where Alain and Bucky were waiting for them.

 

 

     


	37. Chapter 37

The men separated into two groups.

The group led by Sydney and Steve, headed towards the headquarters to where the secret passage was. Meanwhile, Dean and Tony headed with the second group.

“Tony and I are not wearing German’s uniforms.” Dean started while they were in the car. “So, we will pretend that you captured us. When they see us, they won’t bother to check on you guys.”

“Alright, then.” Alain muttered from the front seat, while Bucky drove the car silently.

They passed a few search parties, that didn’t try to stop them all the way until they reached the headquarters.

But suddenly, a German captain and his men stopped them, his brows furrowed sternly while he stared at Tony and Dean.

“Did you catch them?” he asked firmly. When Alain was about to answer the captain continued. “You idiot! Didn’t you hear the new orders?”

Tony and Dean exchanged worried looks while Alain asked carefully: “New orders?”

“Yes. The new orders. General Holdstein undid all Colonel Von Darke’s past orders, who was killed by the three fugitives.” He glared at Tony and Dean before looking back at Alain. “Come over here.”

Alain jumped from the car and headed with the captain a few feet away from them and started to talk to him firmly.

“Do you think he is ordering him to kill us?” Tony whispered carefully.

“No.” Dean shook his head. “From the way Alain’s face is reddening, I say that the captain is telling him something horrifying.”

“You think so?” Tony turned to him in worry.

They saw Alain doing the military greeting and head towards them with a flushed face.

“We’re about to find out.”

Alain jumped inside the car and addressed Bucky. “Go.”

“What happened, Alain?” Bucky asked in concern as he drove away and towards a side street.

When they were out of view in the side street, Alain burst in anger. “Treason!”

Before anyone could understand what was going on, Alain turned and pointed his gun at their faces. “You played us! It is a trap!”

A wave of panic ran through the men as they also raised their guns towards Tony and Dean.

“What do you mean?” Bucky asked in confusion.

“What happened?” Dean muttered as they stepped out of the car and moved a little in front of Tony to cover him.

“That German scum scolded me for arresting you!” Alain shouted in anger. He told me that Holdstein ordered them to chase you down in just a routine procedure but ordered that no one would shoot you and facilitate your escape! What the hell does this means?”

Dean’s eyes widened while Tony just gaped at him muttering. “Holdstein ordered that?”

“Yes! He tried to protect you, traitors!”

“No! He wanted to track us! So we could lead him to where he want.”

“Liar! He can’t track you unless he sent men after you.”

“That might be true in your era, but in ours it is different.” He said it while trailing his hands over his body, searching for something. He took off his shoe and checked it carefully until he found a very small device. “See?” he threw the device away and looked back at them. “He heard every word we said! Which meant that Sydney and Steve are in danger! They’re preparing a trap for them!”

“This will happen because of you, traitors!” one of the men shouted.

“Would you just calm down and listen to them?” Bucky shouted anxiously. “They know what they’re talking about!”

“I don’t care about what they say!” Alain shouted and pointed his gun at Tony and shot it, but Dean darted towards him.

“Don’t you dare to harm him!” Dean yelled as he gripped the gun and raised it upwards, the bullets sounded in the whole area until it reached Sydney and Steve.

“This is the signal!” Sydney announced, and they darted towards the secret door, not knowing there was a trap waiting for them.

***

 “There is something I still don’t understand.”

Castiel said thoughtfully as he watched his team work.

“What is it?” Clint asked from where he was standing next to him.

“Why didn’t the robot guardian go after the other time traveler? Why did it only go to Sydney?” Clint was taken aback by his question since he didn’t think of that before while Castiel continued. “Which lead us to another question: why did the time ship take off the moment Sydney reached it without waiting for the others? If there was others, that is.”

“You think there is a chance that there is no another time traveler?” Clint asked in surprise. Castiel just shrugged. “But there must be at least another one. Or who hacked SHIELD earlier then?”

“Maybe it was Hydra or something. From what I gathered, SHIELD does have lots of enemies. It doesn’t have to be a time traveler.”

“The hacker used pretty advanced ways.”

“Charlie could hack into anything with several different ways. These things advance pretty fast.” Castiel shrugged again and turned to face Clint. “I’m just trying to see the situation from every possibility.”

“Yeah, I understand. I-“ he was cut off when a ringing came from his watch which he immediately raised towards his mouth. “What is it?”

“Another hacking attempt, Barton.” Came Coulson’s nervous voice from the watch. “I was told to immediately tell you if that happened again.”

Clint and Castiel shared a quick look before glancing at Charlie.

“Charlie. Another attempt.” Castiel called out immediately.

“On it!” she answered already getting to work.

A few tense seconds passed as everyone in the room watched Charlie intently, before she cursed and looked up at them grimly.

“It ended before I could track their location completely.” She announced in frustration.

“Dammit.” Clint muttered.

“But I did manage to at least know where they are approximately.” She added fast.

“Which is?” Castiel asked urgently.

She checked her result and furrowed her brows nervously. “Uhm, I’m sorry to say that but the hacker isn’t exactly far away.” She looked up at them while biting her lower lip. “The Hacker is in SHIELD headquarters.”

***

At the same moment they started to storm into the secret door, Sydney’s brain started to work.

Why was their escape that easy?

Why weren’t they hit by any bullet even with the bullets that were raining on them then?

Even the motor bike driver didn’t try to shoot them directly but shot the car tires instead.

Sure, she knew about the secret passage from her excessive research on this era when she was younger, but the corridor was empty. So was the room.

With all those thoughts running in her head, she saw a glimpse of a German uniform from the partially opened secret door.

Understanding dawned on her.

It was a trap.

She closed the door violently while shouting: “Fall back! It is a trap!”

The men were darting behind her and when she shouted they stumbled against each other. They stepped back nervously.

“A trap?!” Brigitte exclaimed anxiously.

“Sydney, what are you talking about?” Steve asked nervously.

Suddenly, The Germans emerged from everywhere and surrounded them completely.

“Treason!” one of the men shouted and glared at Sydney.

Guns where raised to their faces.

The resistance’s men raised their guns back to shoot but was stopped by Steve.

“No, don’t. It will turn into a massacre!” Steve shouted firmly.

One of the men growled and turned towards Sydney and hit her in the jaw with the heel of his gun. “You bitch! You tricked us!”

Brigitte screamed as she saw Sydney hitting the wall painfully, while another man ignored Steve’s words and raised his gun shouting: “Death for the Nazis!”

And the shooting begun.

***

When the sound of shooting reached them, panic filled Tony completely.

“No! Steve!” he screamed and tried to run towards his husband but was gripped tightly by Dean.

“You tricked us! You led us here!” Alain shouted at their faces while waving his gun.

“Just shut up and think for a fucking second!” Tony yelled while trying to escape Dean’s hold.

“All I can do is give you a bullet in your forehead!”

“I swear if you touch a fucking hair on his head I will rip your lungs out.” Dean growled at him, ignoring the guns that was raised to his face and focused to keep his hold on the thrashing Tony.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Bucky shouted suddenly. “You are standing here exchanging blames while our friends are fighting for their lives alone there! We need to go to them.”

“We can’t help anyone now.” Alain muttered in desperation as he stepped back anxiously.

Dean and Tony immediately turned to where he was looking, at the same moment they heard angry shouts coming from the men around them.

 Because they were suddenly surrounded by tanks that were aiming their cannons at them.

“It is over, gentlemen.” Holdstein’s voice sounded from around them. “You fell into our hands just like your friends.”

They noticed immediately that the sounds of shooting stopped.

“He is right.” Alain said bitterly. “We are done for. The French Resistance is over.”

His words made Tony and Dean look at each other in panic.

His words meant that Holdstein’s plan was succeeding.

Everything was going to hell very fast.

 

      

 

    


	38. Chapter 38

Dr. Queen stood up from behind his desk to welcome Fury with a polite smile.

“Hello, Director. Did you find what you were looking for?” he asked politely while shaking Fury’s hand.

“Not yet.” he answered shortly before turning back towards the still opened door and gestured to someone from outside the room.

Robert followed his gaze curiously before tensing up. “What is going on?”

Three people entered the room carrying an advanced looking device and set out to check his furniture and the walls with the device.

“Sorry, Dr. Queen. But what we are about to talk about is classified and we must make sure that there is no one listening to us.” Fury said firmly.

“But my lab is filled with dozens of sensitive devices! Your device could ruin them.” He objected angrily.

“Relax. My men knows what they’re doing.”

He watched in frustration the agents while they work before they eventually turned to Fury. “Everything is clean, Director.”

“Perfect. Now, stand outside the door and don’t let anyone in.” he ordered looking relieved.

“Roger that.” the agents said before leaving the room.

“What is the meaning of this, director?” Robert asked nervously.

Fury stayed silent until the three agents closed the door behind them before answering. “I already told you. What we’re going to discuss is classified.” Robert didn’t comment as he watched Fury move around his lab before he faced him again. “We figured out something about the time spy.”

“What did you figure out?” Robert asked with wide eyes.

Fury ignored his question. “Actually it was surprising. Terrifying to be accurate.”

“Director Fury, what are you referring to exactly?” Robert demanded in frustration.

“You, doctor.” Fury pointed at him.

“Me?!” Robert stepped back in shock.

“Yes, you, Dr. Queen.” Robert paled and felt panic rise inside him but Fury continued. “You’re our only hope to catch that spy.”

Robert stared at him for a second before sagging in relief. He almost gave him a heart attack. He sat back behind his desk. “How can I help?”

Fury grabbed a chair and sat in front of him. “We managed to find the spy’s location. We only need to find his identity.”

“And what is their location?”

“Here.”

“What?!”

“What you heard exactly, doctor. The time spy is also working for SHIELD just like his partner. Which proves how smart and skilled they are. They perfected a file for themselves that painted them as geniuses and decent people that were qualified enough to work for SHIELD.”

“And how did you figure that out?”

He explained to him what Charlie and Bruce found shortly and Robert listened intently.

“The Avengers has pretty bright minds.” Robert murmured in admiration. “But that doesn’t answer my question: how can I help?”

“Bradbury and Dr. Banner are checking the files of everyone in SHIELD to try to find the spy, but we believe that that won’t lead us to anything since the chances of finding another coincidence like the one that exposed Agent Hunter is really dim, which means we need another way to expose the spy.”

“And I am linked to that other way somehow?”

“Yes. It depends entirely on your expertise.” He leaned towards him adding: “We want you to check all the biological reactions of everyone working here and compare it with the spy’s.”

Robert raised his eyebrow. “And you think that will lead to something?”

“Yes, we think so.”

Robert was silent for a few seconds before nodding. “Sure, director. I can give it a try.”

“Perfect.” Fury relaxed in relief. He was one step closer to catching the spy.

***

Tony never saw a smug smile as huge as the one currently on Holdstein’s face.

He was back with Sydney and Dean in the same dungeon, chained to the wall yet again.

“Did you actually think you will get away that easily without me letting you?” Holdstein let out a mocking laugh. “Everything happens here by only my command. I knew that the resistance will call for Captain America. I just made his job much easier. I also made all the necessary arrangements to make sure you go back to your ship.”

“Too bad you didn’t get what you want.” Dean smirked over at him.

“You know? Even though history books painted you as an amazing hero, you’re pretty dense.” Holdstein scoffed at him.

“Wait, me?” Dean exclaimed in surprise.

“That is in the old history, of course.”

“History didn’t change yet.” Tony announced sternly.

“That what you think.” Holdstein moved to stand directly in front of him. “But thanks to you, Captain America is in my hands. Do you have any idea what could happen if I executed him? History will go to shit! Johann Schmitt’s crazy plan of destroying all the important cities of the world will succeed. Which will leave the world shattered and disoriented.”

“And what will you gain from this?” Tony muttered nervously, heart banging hard in his chest.

“It will be easier to take over a shattered world and rebuilt it the way I want. I can lead Hitler into knowing the atomic bomb which will shatter the world even more.” he leaned closer to Tony’s face. “And on top of that shattered world, I will rise. I will rule. And all of history will be mine. Past, present and future.”

“Steve is not that easy to kill.” Tony snapped, but he felt himself shaking at the mere idea.

Holdstein just smirked. “I forgot to tell you that I managed to replicate the Super soldier serum in my time. I even injected myself with it. I also made a drug that react with the serum. It stops it from doing its job. Paralyze the serum for some time. Unfortunately, it is not permanent but it will do.” He gripped Tony’s jaw firmly then. “That drug is in your precious Captain’s veins right now. A generous amount of it. So, currently, Captain America is weak as a little kitten. Even with all his glorious body, he can’t hurt a fly.” Then he let out a crazy laugh. “There is also an added bonus if the Captain was gone way before his time. She will be erased from existence.” He gestured towards Sydney. “Which will mean that that fucking union will never happen. All your descendants will be erased and there will be no pain in my ass in my time!”

Tony felt a cold shiver ran through his body. Steve. His Steve was in danger because of him. His future with his husband is being brutally taken away from him right in front of his eyes. And he was just staring helplessly, unable to do anything.

“Now, back to our problem.” He turned towards Sydney then. “Where’s the time ship?” she just stared back at him coldly. “Don’t think for a second that I can’t get that secret forcefully out of you.”

“Just admit already that your plan failed when we came back here instead of leading you to the ship.” Dean stated firmly. “You know you can’t get anything out of us even if you ripped us apart.”

“And what about the others?” Holdstein smirked at him.

“What others?” Sydney demanded angrily.

“Well, the resistance, of course! They’re in my hands! The best victory in the past months. Imagine Hitler’s reaction if he knew that I crushed the French resistance.” His smirked widened viciously. “I can drag the Captain here. Rip him apart slowly right in front the three of you. I can bring that hot woman from the resistance and let my men have their fun with her right here. I am sure you will enjoy watching that.”

“You crazy son of a bitch.” Sydney shouted in anger while Tony and Dean felt shivers running through them along with rage.

“Yeah, yeah. Call me what you want.” He looked down at his watch. “Listen well, your execution is still going. It wasn’t canceled yet. You still have half an hour before dawn. I will let you make your decision. Either you tell me where the time ship is or I will gather you all with the French resistance, the patriotic Captain and his pals, and will tell my men to shoot you all with no exception.” Then he turned and walked towards the door before he turned to them one last time. “I will see you at dawn.”

He slammed the door behind him, leaving the three of them to make the toughest choice of their lives.  

 

 


	39. Chapter 39

Amazement was written all over Dr. Queen’s face when he entered the room in the tower where the whole team was working.

His eyes trailed over everything before settling on Castiel who stood up to greet him.

“Hello, Dr. Queen. Director Fury said that you could help us with our situation.” Castiel greeted politely while shaking his hand.

“Well, I certainly hope so.” Robert chuckled nervously. “I never thought that a day will come where I help the Avengers. Still trying to take in the whole thing.” Then he moved to shake Sam’s hand, who was standing next to Castiel. “Mr. Winchester, glad I could finally meet you. I heard lots of great things about you.”

Sam just nodded with a polite smile. He was really just too tired to talk. He was peeled from his work by Castiel only half an hour ago to take some rest.

He just want his fucking brother back already. He wanted to go back to their lives. Wanted to be frustrated by Dean and Tony’s endless bickering instead of this unbearable quietness. He wants to see Castiel smiling again instead of the haunted look on his face from the burden that fell on his shoulders. He wants to see Steve moving around again spreading his kindness and caring nature on the people around him instead of seeing him still and unmoving on a couch.

The four of them didn’t deserve to be suffering like that. They were the best, kindest, selfless men in the entire world. They already suffered enough. They deserve to stay happy and with their family.

Dr. Queen shook hands with everyone in the room, which was really polite and nice but kinda familiar.

“Where is Captain Rogers?” he asked curiously while looking around.

They all unconsciously looked towards the couch sadly and Robert followed their gaze in confusion.

He froze when his eyes landed on the unmoving Steve and Sam could swear he saw a panicked look on his face for a second before he schooled his features.

“What happened?” he asked in concern looking back at them.

“Stark, Winchester and Hunter encountered past Captain Rogers.” Natasha reported formerly while studying Robert’s face intently. “Castiel had to put him in this state to save his brain from frying.”

“Things did go to hell since the moment the ship took off.” Robert commented grimly.

“You have no idea how much we wish it back.” Charlie sighed tiredly.

“It will be back.” Robert said confidently, which made Sam, Castiel and Natasha raise their eyebrows at his weird confidence on the matter. He laughed nervously before adding: “I mean we will do our best to bring it back, of course.”

“Of course.” Natasha repeated slowly while staring at his face.

“I tried to minimize the list of the people working in SHIELD with the same physical descriptions we found as hard as I could.” Charlie went straight to business. “This is what I came up with.”

Robert walked over to her to look at her list. “Only five people?” 

“You have to narrow it down to one.”

“I will try my best.” He looked around the room again for a second before adding. “But I want to know everything you found about the time ship.”

“No. that is not possible.” Castiel said firmly.

“What? Why not?”

“Everything about the time ship is considered highly classified information.” He explained sternly.

“Well, Dr. Foster isn’t an Avenger and she doesn’t seem to have a problem.”

“We know Dr. Foster for years.” Natasha answered shortly.

“I see.” Robert nodded while trying to control his temper. “Fine. I will try to work with the available information.”

He studied the data of the five selected persons that the computer chose intently.

“Can you choose one of them?” Bruce asked curiously.

He shook his head slowly. “Maybe we should try to exclude some of them first.” He checked the data again. “But the choice is a little hard.”

“Yeah, we think that too.”

Robert stepped back while looking up at them. “That will make us do another kind of test.”

“Like what?” Charlie asked curiously.

“Symmetry test.”

“Symmetry?” Sam asked carefully. He didn’t know why he felt he should be careful while talking to Queen.

“Yes, Mr. Winchester. Symmetry test. Where we will put the suspects in conditions that matches that of the time ship and record their biological reactions and compare it with the ones we have.”

“Nice idea.” Bruce nodded in approval.

“Do you think this will be enough?” Castiel inquired quietly.

Robert stood up from his chair and walked towards the door while answering: “If you mean this will be enough to bring back your husband then the answer is I really don’t know. But if you mean it will be enough to identify the second time traveler then the answer is yes.” He reached the door and before he stepped out of the room he turned his eyes towards Sam and Natasha, giving them an almost challenging look. “When you are ready to make the test, let me know.”

Then he left the room and closed the door behind himself.

Natasha came to stand next to Sam and they both stared intently at the closed door.

“I don’t trust him.” Natasha announced quietly into his ear.

Sam was silent for a few seconds.

“Yeah, me too.”

***

“Do you see what your fucking ship led us to?!”

Tony yelled angrily while glaring hard at Sydney.

“I didn’t mean to.” She murmured bitterly, looking down in despair. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, you’re sorry?” he turned to Dean and let out a bitter laugh. “Did you hear that? She is sorry.” He faced Sydney again with pure rage. “Well, thanks! I will make sure to write your lovely apology on Steve’s tombstone!”

“It will not reach to that point.” Dean stated calmly, trying to absorb Tony’s rage the way he saw present Steve do all the time.

“How’s that? Mercy will find its way by mistake to Holdstein’s heart and order to release all of us?” Tony rounded on him. Dean could almost see the anger and panic radiating from him in waves.

“Well, obviously we can’t depend on that. But we will not let him harm Steve.” he glanced briefly at Sydney before adding. “Or Brigitte.”

Sydney gave him a small grateful smile while Tony snorted.

“Since when you are the calm and collected one?” Tony raised an eyebrow at him.

“One of us have to if you are going to be like this.” Dean answered firmly.

Tony sagged in defeat and looked down miserably. “I don’t want to lose him, Dean. Not like this. Not ever.”

“You won’t. Now, we just need to focus on finding a way out of this.”

The three of them looked around the dungeon, trying to think of a way to get out of this. Tony turned to Dean again to shout again in despair but stopped when he noticed something around the hunter’s wrest.

“Dean! You still have your watch!” he exclaimed, eyes shining hopefully.

Dean glanced at the watch then looked back at him in confusion. “Yeah? I think they failed to pull it off or something.”

“Dude! This is the watch I gave you on Christmas!”

Dean blinked back at him for a second before his eyes widened in understanding. “Oh, right! I almost forgot what it does!”

“I am kinda lost here.” Sydney muttered in confusion.

“You’ll see.” Tony grinned at her, then turned back to Dean. “Come on, try to press the small button on the side.”

Dean turned his arm a little, so the small button was facing the wall, then pushed his wrest against the wall, trying to press the button. After a few attempts, he finally managed to press it and the watch changed into a fingerless gauntlet around his hand with a repulsor in his palm.

“Oh, yeah, I remember that!” Sydney announced with a chuckle. “Dude, you are going to get a much cooler thing in a few months.”

“Really?” Dean blinked at her in surprise.

“Release yourself first, then ask her about the cool thing I am apparently going to make you soon.” Tony rolled his eyes impatiently.

“Alright, alright. Just remind how does this work again?”

“Just angle it towards the cuffs directly and start the laser not the repulsor, it is dangerous to use it in close proximity like this. Be careful so it won’t fry your face off.”

“Thanks, dude. Definitely what I needed to hear.” Dean sighed, then angled his wrest in an uncomfortable way so his palm was pointed at the cuff around his left hand. Dean bind his fingers inward, the move Tony made to start the laser.

The laser beam started from a small part above the repulsor and landed on the cuff.

It took Dean almost three minutes to free his left arm, then he moved to his right one after.

Finally, he managed to free himself, Tony and Sydney whooped quietly.

“You are doing great.” Tony grinned at him.

Dean moved towards him then. “Come on. Your turn.”

Tony watched quietly as Dean freed his right arm and was about to move to his left arm.

“What the hell?!”

A shout from the door way made them look up sharply.

“I knew it was way too easy.” Sydney muttered bitterly.

Because there were two German soldiers in the doorway pointing their guns at Dean, who was the only one free then.

        

 


	40. Chapter 40

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. I was away for a few days.

Fury’s eye widened in surprise as he stared at Cas, Sam and Natasha in his office.

After they finished what they came to say, he stood up and paced the room for a while before turning back to them.

“So you don’t trust Dr. Queen, and you want to prevent him from coming back to the tower?” Fury asked for clarification.

“Exactly.” Castiel answered shortly.

Fury shook his head in confusion. “But Dr. Queen is the only one expert in what we need. He is trusted by everyone and all his reports are perfect.”

“We also going to need his file to study.” Natasha added firmly.

Fury stared at them in confusion again before sighing and sat back down behind his desk. “What if his presence was needed for the test?”

“I asked Charlie and Bruce about that.” Sam answered immediately. “They confirmed that his presence is not necessary. We could just send him the results.”

“Fine. Even though I object with that and with my complete trust in Dr. Queen but I will give you what you want.”

“Great.” Castiel nodded in thanks.

“Is that all or is there something else you need?”

Castiel shared a glance with Sam before looking back at Fury. “I want to take a look at everything related to Sydney.”

“Everything?” Fury repeated in surprise.

“Yes, everything. Her files. Her reports since she worked for the secret service then in SHIELD. Her medical, psychological and athletic reports. And we will check her house again.”

“But we checked all that twice before, Castiel.”

“True. But there is something I suspect and I need to confirm it. This might help in finding her partner as well.”

“Fine.” Fury sighed tiredly. “You will have what you want.”

***

The situation was pretty critical inside that small dungeon under the Gestapo’s headquarters.

Dean was the only one freed, unarmed since he couldn’t use the gauntlet in case it made a loud noise, facing two armed soldiers that wanted him dead.

But Dean faced situations way worse than this. This was hardly one of his most dangerous situations. He was a hunter after all, he was used to critical situations by now.

He used the repulsor to remove the first soldier’s gun while kicking the second one in nose before he fired the trigger.

The kick was hard enough to throw the soldier to hit the dungeon’s door painfully, and when he tried to charge at Dean again he punched him two times fast and sent him unconscious on the ground.

The other soldier shouted in anger before jumping at Dean and wrapped his arm around his neck from behind, but Dean leaned forward sharply and threw the soldier to fly towards the wall and hit it hard.

“Damn, Dean!” Tony exclaimed with a grin as he watched Dean fight.

But the soldier got back to his feet and raised his spare gun towards Dean’s face shouting: “You are not getting out of here alive!”

 Tony grabbed his chains tightly so he could raise his feet and kick the soldier hard in the back. “Do you want to bet on that?”

The kick threw the soldier towards Dean, who greeted him with a punch to send the soldier unconscious on the ground. “You lose, buddy.”

“Come on, Dean! Hurry up, before this commission bring more soldiers here. Use the laser.” Sydney urged him on impatiently.

But Dean pressed a button to make the gauntlet back into a watch. “This will take a long time.” Then he shrugged out of his jacket and balled it up while taking one of the soldiers’ machine guns. “I have a faster way.”

“You are going to use the gun?” Tony asked with wide eyes. “That will wake everyone in France up.”

“Relax.” Dean reassured firmly. Then, he pressed his balled up jacket to Tony’s left chains and pressed the gun against it then fired.

Tony flinched at the lowered sound that came out of the gun when the bullet pierced his chains and broke it.

“I admit that was pretty cool.” Tony murmured while rubbing his wrest and watched Dean free Sydney.

“I just saw it in a movie before.” Dean grinned over at him. “Who said you can’t learn anything from movies.”

Sydney grinned back at him when she was freed. “Well, it is a good thing to know you didn’t really change in the future.”

Then she moved to take the other machine gun.

“Well, we’re outnumbered and direct attack will destroy us. So, any ideas?” Dean asked while trialing his eyes between the both of them.

Tony gave him a small smirk. “I might have a plan.”

***

Carl knocked on Holdstein’s door and waited for a second.

“Enter.” The General’s firm voice called from inside.

Carl opened the door and shouted the greeting firmly before announcing: “I brought the Captain like you ordered, sir.”

“Bring him.”

“Yes, sir.” He got out for a second before returning while pushing a weak looking Steve with strong chains around his wrests. He was pale, weak and could barely stand upright, like his body was too heavy for him to carry, however, he raised his chin defiantly towards Holdstein who just stared at him with a smug smile.

“Release him and leave us alone.” He ordered without looking at Carl.

“Sir! He is Captain Amer-“

“He can’t hurt a fly in this state so obey your orders, Carl!”

Carl’s face flushed in anger before he choked out: “As you wish, sir.”

He released Steve, then left the room.

Holdstein got up from behind his desk, his eyes trailing over Steve’s body.

“You are a handsome man, Captain. Almost perfect from inside and out. No wonder he fell for you that hard.”

Steve just stared him down coldly, trying to hide how weak and helpless he feels.

“Who do you mean?” he asked coldly.

“You know who I mean, handsome.” Holdstein leered at him while trailing his eyes over him again.

Steve took a small step back as he felt himself recoils from the general’s stare.

“Listen Holdstein, if you-“

“No, you listen, Captain.” He interrupted smugly. “Your future lovesick boyfriend will try to save you from my hands. He will do anything to free you.” Surprise was written on Steve’s face at his words but the general just continued. “You must be wondering, how did I know that, right?” Steve didn’t answer and tried to control his emotions even though his heart was bounding way too fast to be normal. “The only problem your future friends are facing in this era is me. I am the only one capable of facing them and destroy them any time I want. They don’t know that I, once again, let them escape, and I heard every word they said inside that dungeon.” He was now directly standing in front of Steve, who stood his ground and faced him head on. “Your little boy toy made quite the fun plan. They plan to cut off the electricity, then get out from the secret door. Two of them will wear the German’s uniforms they will steal from the two defeated soldiers in their cell, and will turn around the building and try to light a fire that will disorient the guards to give them the chance to free your resistance friends, and will give your little lovesick idiot the chance to appear in front of as a hero.”

Steve felt a shiver ran through his body but he tried to hide it. “What are you planning to do exactly?”

“I will let them release everyone.” He let out a loud laugh. “All except you, of course.”

“And why is that? What is so important about me?”

“You are my winning card, handsome. Your future friends are hiding a dangerous secret, which I want. There is only one way to get it. Is by forcing them to say it.” Then he smirked at him viciously. “It will be a painful shock to poor Tony when he finds out about your disappearance after he releases the others and realize you are still in my hands. His desperation will reach its limits when he fails to find us. Then, the three of them will have to use their future tech to find you, and will make them contact their ship.” Then he snapped his fingers in victory. “And when that contact happen, I will get what I want.”

Steve’s eyes widened in both panic and anger before shouting: “You son of a bitch!” and threw himself at Holdstein even with how weak and heavy he felt.

Holdstein just punched him hard with an unnatural strength and sent him to the ground, then kicked him several times in the stomach until Steve was heaving and spitting blood.

“Don’t try, Rogers. The drug I injected you with made you into a helpless little kitten. You can’t harm me. So just save yourself the trouble.” He leaned down and grabbed Steve’s hair harshly to make him look up at him. “I don’t think you want to make Poor Tony see you all bloody and banged up, do you?”

“Bastard.” Steve just spit at his face with a snarl, which earned him another kick in his middle. “I can do this all day.” Steve panted through bloodied teeth as he looked up defiantly at Holdstein.  

“You little-“ he was cut off by an explosion then the lights went out, he grabbed Steve’s arm harshly. “They started their plan.” Then another explosion sounded. “Fucking hell, where did they get explosives?!”

Carl stormed into his office then. “Sir! The three spies managed to get free and they exploded the basement!”

“Where did they get the bombs?!”

“I don’t know! There is nothing in the basement except some old offices, gas cylinders, and-“

“Gas Cylinders? Dammit!” then he added firmly. “Send a team of men to the secret door then-“

“Why the secret door, sir? They’re here!”

“Here?!” Holdstein’s eyes widened.

Then, another explosion sounded that shook the whole building, followed by shooting.

“It is obvious, sir. The whole fight is inside the building.”

“What?” Holdstein growled in anger. “Those bastards!”

Steve let out a loud laugh as he smiled smugly up at him with bloodied lips.

“I knew he was smarter than you.” he laughed again smugly. “He knew you will be spying on them. So they tricked you like a naïve idiot, to try to stop an attack from the right while they kicked your ass from the left.”

“Shut up you freak!” Holdstein screamed while kicking him again. Then he turned back to Carl. “Order your men to not shoot back at them!”

Carl’s eyes widened. “What? But sir-“

“Obey your orders!”

“As you wish, sir.”

“Just admit you lost already.” Steve let out, trying to look stronger. Apparently, the drug stopped his healing factor too.           

Holdstein’s brows furrowed angrily. “Carl. Kill all the hostages.”

“No!” Steve gasped in panic. “Don’t!”

Holdstein’s fingers tightened on Steve’s arm. “Now, Carl.”

“Right on, sir!” Carl grinned viciously as he ran out of the room.

“You lost, Holdstein! Even with everything you are doing you still lost!” Steve shouted in rage while Holdstein dragged him harshly towards his desk.

“Not yet.” he answered sternly.

Then Steve realized that Holdstein was walking confidently even in the dark.

“Oh, God. You can see in the dark?” Steve’s eyes widened in shock.

“This is not the only thing I can do. The lenses I wear can work for anything.” Then he grabbed something from inside his desk. “I also have some future toys.”

Steve felt something weird wrap around his waist.

“What is this? What are you doing?” Steve shouted, trying to hide his panic.

Suddenly, electrical shocks ran through his body and the whole room let up in a blue glow. He felt his whole being ripped apart piece by piece.

As he fought to hold in his pained scream, he couldn’t help but think about Tony and how that blue glow reminded him of the light shining from his chest.

Then he failed to hold in his scream anymore.

 


	41. Chapter 41

Dr. Queen relaxed in his chair while he was staring at the computer screen inside his lab. He was checking on one of the suspects who was sitting inside a small cabin with conditions similar to that of the time ship, while the suspect’s vitals and biological reactions were being written right in front of Dr. Queen’s eyes while Sam and Natasha were sitting in front of him expectantly.

When he was done checking the results, he looked up at the both of them.

“He is the last one, right?” he asked quietly.

“Yes, he is.” Natasha nodded in confirmation.

Meanwhile, Sam studied Robert very carefully. Honestly? He was more interested in him than the results.

Robert Queen just seemed really familiar somehow, but in a different way than Sydney, who definitely reminded him of two very important people in his life in a very suspicious way, in the brief encounter he had with her. Queen, however, his looks and the way he speaks, was familiar, but he wasn’t sure familiar to who.

“Why don’t you relax in your chair, Mr. Winchester?” Robert smiled calmly at him.

“I am.” Sam answered shortly, still looking intently at him.

“Are you?” he let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Are you done trying to look right into my soul? Tell me, what did you find?”

Sam furrowed his brows in annoyance and was about to say something but Natasha stopped him by placing a gentle hand on his knee.

“Can you tell us the results now, if you please?” Natasha asked coldly.

Robert and Sam sized each other up one last time before the former finally turned to address Natasha.

“I am sorry to say that, but the five men are innocent.” He announced grimly.

“What? But how?”

Robert just shrugged as he relaxed again in his chair. “There must be a mistake. Maybe Miss Bradbury and Dr. Banner made a mistake in their data or there was a mistake of the choosing of the five men, or-“ he cut himself off.

“Or what?” Sam urged him impatiently.

He was hesitant for a few seconds before answering: “Or maybe the whole thing is just an illusion.”

Sam and Natasha’s eyes widened a little at that.

“Illusion? What do you mean?” Natasha wondered in confusion.

“I mean maybe that second time traveler doesn’t exist at all.”

Sam shared a glance with his partner before turning back to Queen.

“Can you explain your point of view?” Sam had his full attention on Robert.

“Sure.” Robert shrugged as he adjusted in his seat. “You reached that conclusions when you subtracted Sydney’s vitals from the total of the vitals that the ship recorded, then assumed that the rest is the vitals of the second time traveler, correct?”

“Yeah.”

“And that was the mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“You thought that Hunter’s vitals will remain the same all the time. You never considered that maybe her vitals multiplies every time she enters one of the time holes.”

“That didn’t cross our minds.” Natasha said with raised eyebrows.

“And that is the difference between you and me. I am an expert in what I do.” Robert leaned on his desk towards Sam with a small smile.

Sam stared him right in the eyes _‘Where did he see these eyes before?’_ before asking: “How high do you think that theory true?”

“60% for now. “

Natasha’s brows furrowed as she rethought everything. “This actually makes sense, and answers lots of questions. Castiel thought about something like that.”

“What about the hacking attempts?” Sam interjected.

“It is probably something different. A Hydra spy or something with high hacking skills.”

“That’s also what Castiel suggested.” Natasha nodded at him. “I think I lean a little towards that explanation.”

“Bullshit.” Sam announced firmly, making both of them turn to him in surprise. “We’re in the middle of a huge problem. The only way to deal with it is by physical proof. Not just theories.”

“But Sam-“

“Physical proof, Nat.” Sam cut her off. “In our situation, we need only physical proof.”

Natasha looked at him for a long time, before seeming to understand him and nodded.

“Alright. You will get your proof.” Robert announced calmly.

“Are you going to proof the nonexistence of the second time traveler or whoever is trying to hack into SHIELD?” Sam challenged him firmly.

Robert’s face froze for a few seconds before a small smile appeared on his face that Sam didn’t understand. “Looking for a Hydra spy is not my job. But I can proof that the traveler doesn’t exist.”

“And this is enough for us.”

***

Dean rained his bullets on the German soldiers while moving around from one hideout to the other lightly and boldly, while Tony and Sydney worked together to light up another gas cylinder and throwing it towards the Germans, who when they saw it rolling towards them turned around and tried to escape from it.

Then the cylinder exploded, destroying one wall of the building violently.

“Where is Steve and the others? Where do you think they’re keeping them?” Tony asked anxiously. 

“Ask Syd. She obviously know more about this fucking era.” Dean answered loudly while still shooting at the Germans.

“There are two places.” Sydney started while racking her brain to remember. “The big dungeon in the back of the building or the backyard. Which do you suggest?”

“The backyard.” Tony and Dean answered together, making Sydney’s lips twitch at the familiarity of it. “They will put them under surveillance. The big dungeon is not big enough for their numbers.” Dean continued.

“Then let’s rush there.”

The moment she said that, Carl’s voice sounded as he shouts: “Kill all the hostages! All of them! General Holdstein’s orders.”

Tony’s eyes widened in sheer terror. “No! Steve!” he screamed before jumping to snatch one of the fallen machine guns and pressed its trigger continually as he rushed to the backyard.

“Tony, wait up!” Dean shouted as he followed him with Sydney who snatched another gun.

Fires were up in lots of parts in the building which most of its walls were gone. The three of them made their way towards the backyard while bullets were raining down on them.

***

Carl suddenly appeared in the backyard, where the hostages were standing nervously, with ten guards pointing their guns at them.

“What do you think is going on?” Peggy whispered to Bucky as she heard the fight happening in the building. “Do you think its Steve?”

“No, I don’t think so. He seemed pretty weak and pale from that goddamned thing that devil injected him with when they took him a while ago. I think he needs help and fast. I swear I will rip that bastard apart if he laid a hand on Steve.” Bucky growled in anger.

“Maybe it is our future friends.” Brigitte suggested hopefully. “The fight seemed to be inside the building not out.”

“You think so?” Alain asked curiously.

“That will be a painful hit to the Nazis.” Peggy commented. “They did everything to secure their headquarters from outside attacks that they didn’t expect the attack will be from the inside.”

Just then, Carl stormed in and shouted: “Kill the hostages! Kill them all!”

Immediately the guns were raised, and bullets rained heavily.

***

When the sound of bullets reached them Tony screamed again: “Steve! No!”

He didn’t know exactly what happened next. He felt something explode inside him that felt suspiciously like pure rage as he stormed into the backyard, his finger never easing from the trigger as he rained his bullets on the Nazis while screaming curses on them.

His bullets were joined by Dean and Sydney’s to reap the Nazis mercilessly.

Carl ran away while shouting in panic “Fuck! Fuck! Where are the reinforcements?!” he kept running until he reached one of the cars and drove away as fast as he could.

In the backyard, Tony was still shooting angrily until Dean grabbed his shoulder firmly and removed his finger from the trigger gently. “That’s enough, Tony. It’s over.”

Tony stopped and looked around with wide eyes at the backyard that became a large pool of blood. He was frozen trying to understand what just happen before he remembered what put him in this state in the first place.

“God! Steve!” he screamed before darting towards the resistance’s men who lost five from their men by the Nazis and a lot of them were injured.

“Barnes! Where’s Steve?!” Tony yelled as soon as he reached the dark haired man, vaguely noticing Sydney rushing towards Brigitte embracing her happily while Dean caught up with him.

“I don’t know, Tony.” Bucky answered bitterly, looking on the verge of breaking down. “That fucking Holdstein ordered his butcher to take him to his office and we didn’t see him since then. They injected him with something and he was so weak he could barely stand up!”

“No! No. Nonono. This can’t be happening!” Tony’s face got paler and paler each passing second.

“Hurry up, guys!” Dean called out to the men. “Gather all you can from weapons and take all the cars you can find and get out of here as fast as possible. It will take them only minutes before the German army will surround the whole place!”

Tony didn’t hear a word Dean said, because the moment Bucky finished what he was saying, he darted to look around for his husband. The love of his life. His fucking Soulmate.

“Steve! Steve, where are you? Steve! Please, where are you?” he kept calling again and again.

But he didn’t get an answer.

Steve disappeared with Holdstein.

Without leaving a trace.

 

 

 


	42. Chapter 42

Steve groaned as he opened his eyes with way more effort than needed with how weak and heavy he felt.

When his vision cleared a little, he looked around to know where he was.

He still didn’t know where he was.

He was in a room that glowed with a violet glow that he wasn’t sure where it was coming from, and everywhere he looked, he saw machines and devices that he never saw before in his entire life. Not even in Howards Stark’s lab.

He was also tied down into a chair in the corner of the room with a strange looking wires that were stronger than steel somehow. Also, there was an IV stand next to him with a bag of strange looking liquid that was bumping into his veins through a needle in his arm.

In the middle of all of that, there was Holdstein sitting in front of a large colorful screen.

“Where are we?” he asked drowsily. Barely able to even open his mouth enough to form words.

“Shut up, freak.” Holdstein snapped without turning to him.

“How did we get here? All I remember is that there was a blue glow and nothing.”

“Teleport.”

“Tele-what?”

“Don’t strain yourself.” Holdstein snorted mockingly. “Your worthless brain would never be able to understand such technology. You are just a pretty face with no actual brain there.”

Steve furrowed his brows in annoyance but he was too weak to be offended really.

“What are you doing to me?” he asked, needing to know and refusing to let the panic rise in his chest.

“Injecting you with the drug again. This will be in your veins for a good few days. I need you as a helpless kitten right now.”

He licked his dry lips nervously as he struggled to keep his eyes open. “What do you want from me? If you want to kill me just do it already.”

“I don’t need you dead yet.” Holdstein just shrugged carelessly. “Right now, you are more useful to me alive. Your handsome, lovesick, future boy will go crazy to find you and won’t stop until he does. And when he feel helpless, and couldn’t find you, he will have to get help from the future tech inside the ship.” He smiled viciously then. “And will lead me right to it.”

Steve swallowed the lump that formed inside his throat. “Tony is not stupid.” He snapped in frustration. “He is a genius. If he did have to reach out to the ship, he will make sure you won’t track him.”

Holdstein’s smile changed into a laugh. “Don’t worry, Captain. If your man went to his ship, there is nothing in the world that will keep me from it.”

Steve felt his heart hammering in his chest as Holdstein’s laugh got louder. Tony and the others are in danger and he was powerless to do anything.

Holdstein was going to steal his future from him. His future with Tony.

***

 “Guys, I think we found something.”

Sam announced excitedly as he and Jane exchanged excited grins.

“What? What did you find?” Castiel asked as he and the others rushed towards them.

Jane pointed at the holes in the time map on the screen. “These holes. They are not alike.”

Natasha studied the map carefully. “How’s that?”

“The variation in sizes is obvious.” Thor commented thoughtfully.

“No, no not in their outside appearance! It is a major difference that could help us!”

“We checked Sydney’s whole journey, which was recorded in the ship’s files.” Sam started to explain. “And compared it with the numbers and symbols then with the sequence of the holes in the map, before we noticed that each hole in the Nil Zone has its own, special frequency.”

“Really?” Castiel asked with wide eyes.

“Yes, Cas!” Jane answered excitedly. “Each hole has its own frequency that is different than any other hole. Also a precise proportionality between each hole and the other, which lead us to know the relation between each hole with the others.”

“And how’s that?” Clint asked excitedly.

“Check this hole for and example.” Sam answered this time. “It lead to the 19th century BC and its frequency is   from that other hole that leads to the 10th century AC, while the latter is lesser than another one that leads to the 2nd century BC.”

“Oh my God! What a discovery!” Charlie exclaimed in wonder.

“But how this can help us?” Castiel asked carefully.

“It can help us with everything!” Jane exclaimed excitedly. “We discovered the main relation between the time holes! Which meant that if we studied these frequencies carefully, with all our tech, the ones Sydney already labeled on the map, we will manage to check the frequency of a new hole and apply the same thing on them and we will pinpoint what time that hole will take us!”

“This is amazing!” Bruce’s eyes widened in utter wonder. “You just discovered the secret of time traveling through the time holes! It is the first step of building a fully functioning time machine! You deserve a Noble prize!”

“You should praise Sam here.” Jane clapped Sam’s shoulder proudly. “He was the one who noticed this whole thing.”

“All I care about is bringing my brother and my friend back.” Sam just shook his head firmly.

“I know for a fact that this is the first step in doing so.” Castiel smiled proudly at him.

“But how, Cas?” he asked bitterly.

“We will a find a way, Sam” Natasha murmured softly to him with pride shining in her eyes as well.

“We will keep working on it to find the best way to use this discovery.” Jane announced in determination.

“Yeah, we will.” Sam smiled a little at her, but he couldn’t shake the worry gnawing at him from the inside.

***

Carl’s face was flushed with pure anger as he stood before the ruins of the headquarters.

“Fuck, how a victory can change into such a humiliating defeat?” he muttered angrily under his breath.

There was a whole army of Nazis surrounding the remains of the building and spreading in the nearby streets.

One of the soldiers approached him and did the military greeting.

“What do you have?” Carl demanded in frustration.

“No survivors, sir.” The soldier answered. “There is no trace of General Holdstein and Captain America, either.”

“Maybe a bomb ruined their corpses or-“ the soldier shook his head. “They couldn’t have just disappeared! I left the general with the Captain in his office!”

“There is no trace of them, sir.” The soldier shook his head again.

“Then where are they?” Carl muttered angrily.

“Any other orders, sir?”

“Just clean this mess up and paint us as the heroes.” Carl just waved his hand dismissively before jumping in his car and drove away towards his office.

He rethought the whole thing from the start and felt uneasiness spread through him.

When he reached his office he called his assistant.

“Contact Berlin.” He ordered firmly.

“Who do you want to contact, sir?” he asked while already starting to make the call.

“General Himmler himself. The director of the Gestapo.”

***

Tony was sitting on the floor against a wall inside the resistance’s hideout, his head hidden in his knees which he was hugging close to his chest.

He could literally hear in his head every sentence Steve ever told him from the moment they met. Every loving word. Every comforting and reassuring sentences. Every single time Steve saved him. Helped him. Loved him. Took care of him.

He couldn’t save him back. He failed him. He just keeps failing him. Over and over again.

Steve was probably dead by now. Soon his memories of his Steve will be erased because his Steve would be erased too. All because he was a failure.

He got his husband killed. He ruined history. He-

“Tony!”

Dean’s voice preached his erratic thoughts and he flinched violently as he looked at Dean who sat down next to him, looking at him gently.

“Stop thinking too loudly. I could literally hear your self-loathing. This is not your fault.” Dean stated firmly but gently. “Steve doesn’t have to be dead. Maybe Holdstein left with him before our arrival.”

“No, Dean.” Tony shook his head sadly. “Holdstein ordered the execution of the hostages himself, which meant he was inside the building with Steve.”

“He is going to be okay, Tony.” Dean placed a calming hand on his shoulder. “He is Steve. He is too stubborn to die this easily.”

The moment he said that, Bernard entered the room while panting. “We found no trace of them.”

“Did you search well?” Bucky asked worriedly.

“Everywhere. But apparently Holdstein disappeared completely. Even his men don’t know where he is.”

“He must be somewhere!” Tony exclaimed with flushed face.

“Where?” Peggy asked nervously.

“I don’t know! But they’re there!”

“I am afraid that they might have died in there.” Alain stated bitterly.

“No. that didn’t happen!” Tony snapped.

“I once saw two men a bomb ripped them apart completely that it was difficult to recognize there remains.”

“I said: that didn’t happen!” Tony snapped sharply. “Holdstein did this on purpose. He disappeared with Steve to make us look for them.”

Everyone in the room exchanged nervous looks.

“True, we all love Steve and we would readily die for him, but it will be stupid to let that devil lure us to another trap.” Alain stated firmly.

“He doesn’t want you! He wants us!” Tony waved his arms in frustration.

“That’s right. From the moment we saw you, trouble rain down mercilessly on everyone!” Bucky snapped suddenly in anger.

“Just go! Stay away from us! Enough what you did!” Peggy also exclaimed angrily.

“Just go to hell, away from here.” Alain growled in anger.

The whole situation was going sideways very fast that Dean grabbed Tony’s arm and pulled him back.

“Calm down, Tony.” he whispered. “They’re really angry.”

But Tony ignored him and released his arm sharply.

“I will not go anywhere until I find Steve!” he shouted angrily.

Angry shouts filled the room directed at them.

“God, what’s happening?” Sydney asked nervously as she and Brigitte stepped back in worry.

“It is a normal reaction after what they faced yesterday.” Dean answered while pulling Tony back firmly.

“He’s their friend! He’s Captain America! They should fight to get him back!” Tony shouted again in frustration.

“They don’t believe he is alive.” Dean stated firmly.

“But he is!”

“Enough.” Bucky yelled again. “There is no sign that indicates that he is alive.”

“And there is no sign that indicates he is dead either! You should fight for-“

“This is not your business.” Peggy cut him off firmly.

“Actually, it is my-“

“I said: it is not your business!”

“Just go away.” Bucky growled. “You got Steve killed! This is all your faults! Just leave! Enough what you have already done!”

Dean knew the situation was pretty tense and they need to fall back temporarily, but Tony ignored all that.

“We will not go anywhere until Steve is back.” Tony exclaimed stubbornly.

“You did not leave us another choice.” Alain growled then turned towards his men. “Kill them!”

Immediately, guns were raised towards their faces, then bullets rained down on them mercilessly.       

        


	43. Chapter 43

“Idiots! Idiots! “

Holdstein screamed in rage over and over again while pacing in his hideout like an angry tiger. “They couldn’t have killed them just like that!”

A shiver ran through Steve’s weakening body at his words.

“What do you mean? Who killed who?” he asked trying not to panic.

“Your fucking friends killed the future people!” Holdstein screamed turned sharply towards him. “They shoot them after a stupid fight!”

Steve’s face paled and felt his heart drop. “No way. No way would Alain do this. Even if he did, Bucky is there and would stop him!”

“But he did! Him and your stupid friend lost their tempers and blamed the future people for losing you and killed them mercilessly!”

Steve’s face got paler and paler at this, and felt hollowness filling him at the thought of Tony. He didn’t know when or how or why, but he felt something attracting him to the beautiful man from the moment he laid eyes on him. Something inside him was demanding him to be closer to the genius. Like he waited his entire life just to look at those big, expressive brown eyes until the end of time. To touch him and feel the electricity that run through him when he does. Even though he could barely understand half the things Tony said, he just loves to hear the sound of his voice. He feels like he knew him for years instead for just a day.

And now Tony was probably dead and Steve felt the hollowness in his chest suffocating him.

“How did you know this anyway?” Steve snapped, trying to hide his feelings. “We didn’t leave this place since your future thing brought us here.”

Holdstein leaned towards him, eyes shining in anger. “With another ‘future thing’, Pea brain. A very small device, I put it in your future boyfriend’s hair when he was unconscious. It let me hear everything happening around him from here.” Steve’s eyes widened in disbelieve. “I know you can’t even understand it. I doubt there is a fucking brain in this pretty head of yours! I can’t even understand why a genius like him would tolerate to deal with an empty brain like yours!”

Steve gritted his teeth but didn’t comment. Honestly? He might have thought the same thing at some point.

Suddenly, Holdstein’s hand wrapped around his neck tightly, pure rage lighting up his eyes.

“You know what bugs me the most?” Holdstein snarled as he brought his face even closer to Steve’s. “That a worthless airhead like you is important in the future. That you actually matter! You are just a lucky bastard that Erskine saw by pure luck! If he wasn’t there at the right time you would have lived your whole life a worthless piece of shit. Tell me! What is so important about you?”

Steve hid the effect of Holdstein’s words behind a cold determined mask. “Nothing. I’m just a kid from Brooklyn. Nothing more, nothing less.” Then he straightened himself up as far as he could even though he barely could sit upright. “And I am telling you. There is no way what you said happened. Alain might be short tempered and would blame them for everything but he won’t kill them like that. Even if he decided to, neither Bucky nor Peggy would let him. They are both level headed people no matter the situation.”

Holdstein’s brows furrowed as he stared at Steve’s face thoughtfully.

“We will see about that now.” he muttered then sent Steve a glare before adding. “If I found out they are dead, I will make sure your death will be as painful as I could make it.”

Then he turned around and left the hideout leaving Steve behind in the darkness of the room.

***

Castiel was tired. He wasn’t ashamed to admit it.

Everything around him was pressuring him and the burden on his shoulders was almost too much.

He was fooling everyone around him by his cool demeanor. They don’t know how tired he was. Physically and emotionally. Dean was still too far away from his reach and he wasn’t dealing with this very well. Dean was always a constant, comforting presence beside him. His absence was suffocating him and he was barely holding himself back from breaking down from the loneliness he feels right now.

He wasn’t really alone, he knew that. But he will always feel lost and alone when Dean wasn’t around. At the beginning he felt a little reassurance with Steve’s strong presence beside him, sharing his burden and pain. But Steve was no longer available to reassure him and he felt truly alone since now everyone was relaying on him to stay strong.

He wasn’t sure he could do this anymore.

He was thinking about all of this while sitting on a chair next to Steve’s unmoving form, Sydney’s files in his lap while the others continued to do their tasks around him.

He was vaguely aware of Sam’s worried looks he keeps sending towards him, but he was too tired to look at him and reassure him that he was fine. He didn’t really want to lie to Sam.

“Mr. Winchester, there is someone who is asking to enter the tower.” JARVIS’ voice cut through his thoughts and everyone stopped to look at each other in confusion.

“Who is it?” Castiel asked in confusion.

“He refuses to say his name. He just said that he is here to help.”

Castiel looked over at the others who just shrugged tiredly at him.

“Let him in.” Castiel ordered.

“As you wish, sir.”

A few minutes later, the elevator’s doors opened to reveal their mystery visitor.

He was a man around Steve’s age, with long dark hair and blue eyes that held so much fatigue, sadness and guilt in them. He was wearing a long sleeved shirt but it didn’t hide the metal arm Castiel caught him trying to hide as he approached them.

Castiel stood up to greet him and the man stopped in front of him and studied him carefully.

“You are the angel Castiel?” he asked with a hint of wonder in his voice.

“I am.” Castiel confirmed confidently as he felt the others coming closer behind him.

The man raised his normal hand towards him to shake his.

“My name is James Barnes. You can call me Bucky.” He said and Castiel’s eyes widened in recognition. Steve told him everything about that man. He didn’t think he would really show up for this. “And I am here to help as much as I could. If you let me.”

***

Carl was nervous and frustrated as he paced around the remains of the headquarters’ building.

“Did you make the call?” he shouted at one of his men. “I want the coded message to reach Berlin now!”

“We are trying, sir. But the attack ruined everything and-“

“I don’t care. Fix the machines or buy new ones. You must send this message. It is very dangerous.”

“And why is it dangerous, Carl?” a stern voice demanded behind him.

Carl jumped violently and turned sharply towards the voice. He stared at Holdstein’s face for a few seconds before straightening up and did the military greeting.

“Why is the message dangerous, Carl?” Holdstein repeated ignoring Carl’s greeting.

“Because of you, sir.”

“Me?” The general asked viciously.

Carl hesitated before adding hastily. “You disappeared completely after the attack and I thought I should tell the leadership about that, in case the resistance managed to-“

“No need to send it anymore then.” Holdstein interrupted firmly.

“Of course, sir. Of course.”

Holdstein gave him a long look before looking around at the remains of the building. “Worst than I thought.”

“Actually sir we-“

“I want a tank and a group of men.” Holdstein interrupted again. Carl stared at him in shock so he added while turning away from him. “We will attack the resistance.”

“And where are they?”

“Don’t think, Carl. Just obey. And fast.” Then he turned around and walked towards his car.

Carl followed him with his eyes before turning towards one of his men. “Do what the general ordered.” Then he turned towards the communications officer. “Send the message.” The officer stared at him in surprise. “Now.”

 

  

 

 

 

    


	44. Chapter 44

“Over here, sir!”

The French spy pointed at a small two story building, hidden in the fields surrounding Paris. “All the resistance’s men are hiding here. I saw them myself when you ordered me to follow them.”

“What about the shooting that sounded here?” Holdstein asked while hiding with his men behind another building.

“They killed some traitors.” The spy whispered. Holdstein tensed and turned sharply towards him. “Two men and a woman. They shot the three of them and burned them before they buried them here.” Holdstein’s glare was getting sharper that the man got nervous. “That what happened, sir! I swear.”

Holdstein stepped back and straightened up. “Very well then.”

He gestured towards his men towards the right and the left, his men separated into two groups. A group moved right and the other moved left. They surrounded the small building subtly. Holdstein watched their movements silently until each soldier took his position then he jumped into one of the cars while pointing at the spy. “Follow us.”

The spy shivered and nodded shakily.

Holdstein’s car moved towards the building as a firm voice sounded.

“To all the resistance’s men inside. We know you are in there. You are surrounded. Get out with your arms above your heads or we will shoot. I repeat.”

Before they could repeat, bullets rained down on them from inside the building. The Nazis shot back immediately without the need of orders.

Holdstein just watched the whole scene like he was watching a really good movie.

The soldiers got more confident and darted forward to storm into the building. That made Holdstein stand up and stop them.

“No. No storming in.” he ordered sternly.

The soldiers stepped back in surprise but they continued shooting and throwing their grenades while wondering in confusion why the general stopped them.

Their surprise soon changed into shock when they saw Holdstein jumping out of the car and walked confidently and calmly towards the building.

They stopped shooting and just watched Holdstein walking towards the building. When he reached it, he looked inside one of the windows before cursing in annoyance.

“Just like I expected.” He muttered in frustration.

He jumped inside the window and a few soldiers scrambled to follow him.

They all stared at a large metal cover in the ground of the bottom floor that Holdstein was standing next to it.

“They shot first then escaped through this.” Holdstein said in anger.

“We can follow them, sir.” One of the soldiers darted towards the metal cover.

“No, you idiot!” Holdstein shouted but it was too late, the soldier already pulled the cover.

Holdstein jumped away and ran as fast as he could.

The explosion happened.

It threw Holdstein forward violently and out of the window and took down five soldiers and injured seven.

Holdstein got up with rage rising through him. “The idiot! He should have known they must have left a trap behind.” He grabbed the spy harshly. “Where did they bury the three bodies?”

The spy shivered as he pointed at a place between the fields. “There, sir.”

Holdstein dragged him harshly towards the place he pointed at and threw him to the ground. “Dig.”

The spy paled and shivered. “But sir-“

“Dig!” Holdstein screamed in anger.

The man was shivering violently as he started digging with his hands with a pale face for a while until his hands touched a human, burned body and jumped back screaming.

Holdstein slapped him and pushed him again. “Keep digging!”

The spy almost passed out as he kept digging and threw up when the three burned bodies emerged.

Holdstein kicked him away cruelly as he leaned down to check the bodies. “No! No way had they actually done it! No way!” His hands checked the heads of the three bodies until he found the small device he was looking for. “Fuck!”

It was the small eavesdropping device that proved with no doubt that these three bodies belonged to the three he was looking for.

The three Avengers.

***

“How did you notice that something is wrong?”

Castiel asked as he watched Bucky carefully who was staring sadly at Steve’s unmoving form. “You don’t seem to be affected by this like Steve. So, I am guessing that your memories are still not really intact. How did you know that something isn’t right?”

Bucky was silent for a few seconds, unconsciously trying to hide the metal hand peeking out of his long sleeved shirt from Castiel’s view. Like he was ashamed.

“Every day some memories made their way into my head.” He started slowly, his eyes still on his unmoving friend. “In one of them, I saw Stark. That wasn’t right and didn’t make sense, so I figured that something was happening.” He turned his eyes towards Castiel then. “Is he going to be alright?” he asked in worry gesturing towards Steve.

“I don’t know.” Castiel answered truthfully. “It depends on how much the past will change I guess.”

“And Stark? Will he be able to come back? They can’t lose each other, not like this.”

Castiel just looked at him thoughtfully for a while, studying him.

“If you care so much about them, why did you stay away all this time?” Castiel asked, genuinely wanting to understand.    

Bucky looked down and hunched on himself. “I can still hear their voices.” He whispered quietly. “The people I killed. The memories I still can’t remember are replaced by the memories who I murdered. I still can’t trust myself and lose control sometimes. Then came in Stark. He forgave me for killing his parents! Offered me a home. A second chance. How am I supposed to deal with that? How am I supposed to just look him in the eyes? Look in Steve’s eyes?” his eyes landed on Steve again. “He makes him happy. He is everything he ever wanted. My presence would have ruined their happiness. I can’t do that to them. He deserves to be happy after suffering so much.”

Castiel sighed tiredly. “Well, obviously that isn’t true. The both of them are keeping a place for you here and that won’t affect their happiness in any way. Tony forgave you. You should probably forgive yourself.” Then he paused and studied Bucky again. “You seem to trust me even though we just met. Why?”

“He trusts you. That is good enough for me.” he just shrugged before he looked up at him with wonder in his eyes. “Besides, I heard a lot about you back in the days. You are a legend. I was a huge fan of yours.” He hesitated for a second before adding. “I also remember meeting Dean in one of my hazy memories. I already know who he is right now, I watch the news. But I remember that he is a good man. He and Stark deserves to come back to their home.”

Castiel gave him a small smile. “Glad we are on the same page, then.”

   

 

 


	45. Chapter 45

Sam was sending Castiel sad looks as the latter was talking quietly with Bucky.

He could see how exhausted Castiel was. He didn’t sleep or eat anything since the moment Dean was gone. Even though he insists that he doesn’t actually need to do either of those things but Sam knew he was bluffing. Castiel needed sleep and food just like them and he was ignoring both of those needs. Probably because Dean was the one who always reminded him to eat by placing food in front of him and demanding him to eat, and drag him to bed at night to sleep or else Castiel might actually forgets to do so.

Unfortunately, Sam couldn’t do the same. He was a terrible cook and couldn’t make Castiel anything that wasn’t burnt and the angel doesn’t really like fast food much, and there is no force on earth other than Dean that could make Castiel get some sleep.

Just then, Natasha returned to the room carrying two plates of food. She disappeared a while ago but Sam didn’t know she was cooking and he stared at her with wide eyes as she made her way towards Bucky and Cas.

Bucky’s eyes widened when she handed him a plate but accepted it when she just send him a stern glare. When she handed the second plate to Castiel he just shook his head.

“Thank you but-“ he started but was cut off when she shoved the plate into his hands.

“You are going to eat it even if it was burned or I will shove it down your throat.” She growled in frustration. “I am not really willing to see the look on Dean’s face when you collapse in front of him from lack of food and sleep.”

Castiel paused then sighed and accepted the food with a nod. Natasha softened and squeezed his shoulder gently before walking back to sit next to Sam as he worked.

“Thank you.” he whispered and gave her a chaste kiss.

“He is family to me too, you know.” She muttered softly and leaned a little on Sam. “I hate to admit it, but Dean’s absence is affecting us all just as hard as Tony’s.”

“I knew Dean will grow on you.” Sam teased gently.

“Shut up.” She chuckled a little before she glanced up at Sam and gazed at him for a second. “What were you thinking about earlier?”

Sam sighed and looked back at the time map that was displayed in front of him. Jane had to take a rest earlier from how hard she worked and Thor led her to a room to sleep. Bruce dragged Charlie to the kitchen to make her eat something and Sam wasn’t sure where Clint was. Meanwhile, he kept staring at the time map trying to find a way to use their discovery to actually do something.

“We have the first time map but no actual time machine to use it to get them back.” Sam murmured sadly. “So what we discovered is pretty much useless.”

“It is not useless. You managed to figure out something that future Tony didn’t have the time to figure it out himself. That must help with anything.”

“Well, Tony isn’t here to build a time ship.” Sam sighed tiredly.

“Yes, he is not here. So we try to find another way. You always do.”

Sam was silent for a few seconds, watching Castiel as he dejectedly ate what was probably half burnt food since Natasha wasn’t much of a cook either.

“Do you think if we actually managed to bring them back Sydney would tell us who is her partner?” he asked curiously, letting out a small smile as Bucky and Castiel were staring in confusion at a suspicious looking thing in their plates.

“No, I don’t think so.” She shook her head as she also cracked a small smile at the scene.

“Why is that?”

“First, because I am almost sure who her grandparents are and their genes are pretty intense in her, which meant that she won’t tell us something she wants to hide no matter what. Secondly, if she was truly an Avenger in the future then her partner must be an Avenger too. So no way in hell they will tell on each other.”

“If that true that means the second time traveler is not up to anything bad, right?”

“Maybe. I-“

She was cut off by Clint storming into the room with a nervous look in his eyes.

“What is it?” Castiel immediately stood up and braced himself for bad news.

“The time traveler is trying to hack into the system again.” Clint answered nervously.

“What are they trying to hack into this time?” Natasha asked anxiously.

“They hacked into a highly classified part of the system, which held the Avengers’ files. They know every single thing about us now.”

***

The autopsy doctor’s fingers shook as he finished his work on the last burnt body and gave the general a sidelong glance.

“Nothing.” He said quietly like he was afraid of the reaction.

“What do you mean by ‘nothing’?” Holdstein shouted in anger. “There must be something!”

“Of-of course, Sir.” The doctor answered in fear. “We knew the cause of death. They were killed by machine guns and-“

“Not what I meant, you fool! I am talking about unknown thing in the bodies. Metal pieces, small devices, anything!”

“We didn’t find any of those things, sir. You have been here all the time.”

Holdstein was boiling in pure rage. He couldn’t accept this. The resistance’s men couldn’t have just killed them like that. And if they did, why the hell did they burn the bodies? And why didn’t that woman Sydney have anything on her that lead her to the ship? Could the resistance took everything in their pockets?

There must be something missing. Something that will give him the answer.

“Sir? Can we go?”

The doctor’s question pulled him from his thoughts. He turned towards him sharply and stared at him sternly for a few minutes that the poor man thought he was going to order his execution.

“Not yet.” he answered slowly.

“But we finished our work and-“

“There is still something I still need to know.”

“What something?”

Holdstein’s eyes let up in a way that scared the doctor. “I will tell you.”

He gripped the doctor’s arm and pushed him harshly towards the burnt bodies and inside his head an idea was born.

***

Sam and Jane’s eyes widened as they stared at their results before letting out loud laughs that startled everyone in the room, but Sam just darted towards a startled Castiel and grabbed him by the arm excitedly to drag him towards the computer.

“Cas! We found it! We found a way!” Sam exclaimed excitedly while dragging the angel.

“What? What did you find?” Castiel asked hopefully while Bucky stood behind him confused and the others stared at Sam and Jane in both confusion and hope.

“That frequency that emits from each hole is how we will get them back!” Jane said with a huge grin.

“How?” they all asked loudly, impatiently.

“Even though each one of the holes have its own frequency, they are all in one zone, which gave them their signature black color, but if we interfered with the main frequency with a special one, emitted very strongly in a wide range, it could change the color of our hole!” Sam explained excitedly.

“Is that possible?” Bruce asked in shock.

“I asked JARVIS if it was possible and this was the result.” Jane pressed a few keys and they watched one of the holes on the map change from black to blue then to violet then finally to red.

In awe they all stared at the red hole that looked very obvious in the white nothingness.

“Is this how it will look in the Nil Zone?” Natasha asked in wonder.

“Absolutely.” Sam nodded with a grin.

“Not just the color will change. It will emit a special frequency that the ship will absolutely catch.” Jane added with her own grin.

“Do you think they will understand what that will mean?” Thor asked carefully.

“I have no doubt that Dean will understand.” Castiel stated confidently. “And Tony definitely will too.”

“Of course.” Thor nodded.

“The moment Dean will see that red hole and Tony notice the frequency that emits from it they will immediately know it’s us and-“ Sam cut himself off when he saw the expression that passed on Castiel’s face. “Cas what is it?”

Castiel and Bucky shared a brief, silent look before Castiel gave Sam a pale, fake smile.

“Nothing, Sam. nothing.”

But Sam understood anyway.

Because it was the same thing that he thought about.

Dean and Tony will definitely understand what the red hole mean.

That is if they were alive.

      

 

   

 

 

 


	46. Chapter 46

The sun was just beginning to set when Holdstein returned to his hideout outside of Paris.

He made sure his security system was working well before getting into the room where he left Steve.

When the lights turned on inside the room, blinding Steve who spent the whole day in the darkness, he glared up at Holdstein as hard as he could.

His head was leaned back on the back of the chair, too weak to even keep lifting it anymore.

“Oh great, you are still alive.” Steve snarked with a frown.

Holdstein ignored what he said and just walked towards him slowly.

“Do you know where I was just a few hours ago?” Holdstein wondered grabbing Steve’s chin to force him to look at his face. “Standing over your future boyfriend’s grave.”

Steve’s face paled as he felt the blood in his veins turned to ice.

No. Tony couldn’t have been gone. He refused to believe that. Refused to believe that his future was gone.

“Do you know what that means?” Holdstein continued, ignoring Steve’s pain. He leaned down while trailing his hand from Steve’s cheek to his chest. Steve recoiled from the unwanted touch. “It means you are useless to me now. Though it is a shame to see that beautiful face ruined by a bullet hole in the forehead but what can we do.”

“Go to hell you fucking, insane bastard.” Steve spat out with every ounce of anger and hatred he felt towards Holdstein.

“I will drag you with me there, sweetheart.” Holdstein said while pulling out his gun and pointed it at Steve’s head. Steve just stared defiantly up at him, not scared of his fate. He no longer have a future anyway so if he died right now he wouldn’t mind much. “Goodbye, Captain America.”

“Don’t even think about it, John Wick.” A firm voice sounded suddenly behind Holdstein.

They both jumped and the general turned to find himself face to face with a gun and Dean’s smirking, firm face behind it. “Surprise.”

Sydney appeared behind Dean then Tony who immediately rushed towards Steve who was staring at him with wide disbelieving eyes.

“Steve! Steve, are you okay?” Tony exclaimed as he cupped Steve’s face gently and trailed his eyes over his body, checking for injuries then started to untie him.

“You-you are here.” Steve murmured, an overwhelming wave of relief and affection hitting him as he stared at Tony’s face.

“Of course I am here. Where else am I supposed to be?” Tony looked at him like he was an idiot which made Steve smile dazedly at him.

“Surprised to see us, Holdstein?” Sydney asked with a smirk.

“Not much.” Holdstein just shrugged coldly.

“We found the device you placed in Tony’s hair.” Dean started with a grin. “So we made that comedy act with the resistance’s men, knowing that you will hear every word and will be convinced that we are dead. I tell you, Barnes laughed for a whole thirty minutes after we were done. Then we burned three bodies from your fallen soldiers after we placed the device in one of them.”

Steve was now free, Tony and Sydney immediately placed his arms on both of their shoulders since he couldn’t stand upright on his feet, however he leaned closer towards Tony, seeking his warmth.

“We knew our death will drive you crazy.” Dean continued, gun still raised towards Holdstein’s face. “And you will try to find our bodies, which will get you out of your hideout and will lead us to it when you return.” Dean’s smirk widened. “And that’s exactly what happened.”

Holdstein was silent for a few seconds before saying slowly. “That didn’t surprise me much.” Then he straightened up firmly. “You could say that I expected it.”

Worry itched itself on Sydney’s face while Tony pulled Steve closer to him, worry eating him from the inside as Steve stared at Holdstein nervously.

“Expected it?” Dean frowned in anger. “You just hate to admit that you lost. It is over, dude! Just admit it already.”

“You think so?” Holdstein smirked mockingly before raising his hand and snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, an energy cylinder surrounded the four of them, trapping them inside it.

“You son of a bitch.” Dean shouted and shot at Holdstein.

The bullets hit the wall of the cylinder and disappeared without a trace.

“I told you.” Holdstein let out a loud laugh. “I was waiting for you actually.”

***

Dr. Queen was checking the results again of everyone working in SHIELD with deep attention until finally he looked up at Fury who was staring at him in expectation.

“They’re clean.” He announced while shaking his head.

“Try again.” Fury said in frustration.

“I tried two times. I think that’s enough.”

“But this is impossible.” Fury muttered as he rested back in his seat miserably. “The time traveler is real no doubt. He hacked the highly classified information about the Avengers.”

“Really?! He must be a real genius since we all know how complicated it is to hack so deeply into SHIELD’s system.”

“But he did so I guess it is not that complicated anymore.”

Queen was silent for a few seconds as he watched Fury carefully.

“I’m sorry, sir, but I have to ask.” He started hesitantly. “Why do you assume that the second traveler is a spy? If Sydney is an Avenger in the future, won’t that make her partner an Avenger too? So I guess he is not up to any harm.”

“I don’t trust Hunter. She could have lied about her identity just so the current Avengers symphysis with her and get them on her side. Until it was proven otherwise, she and her partner are spies.”

Queen didn’t comment on that, he just shook his head and rested back in his seat tiredly.

“Can’t you try again?” Fury repeated his earlier question yet again.

“It’s hopeless.” Robert shook his head.

“There must be another way.”

Robert thought about that for a few seconds. “Maybe there is.”

“What is it?” Fury asked hopefully.

“The genetic code.”

“What?”

“You know, the biological reactions won’t change in time, but the genetic code will definitely do, with the changes in the hereditary and environmental conditions.”

“But those changes will be very minor and till we can find it, it may take us months.”

“Not if we studied the sample we got from Sydney! Her and her partner must have grown up in the same atmosphere and conditions. So, they will have the same changes in them.”

“Complicated idea but it might actually work! I will tell Bradbury and Dr. Banner about it! Thank you!”

With that he got out of his seat and rushed to the door.

“Good luck!” Robert called out after him as a slow smile took place on his face and let out a small, amused chuckle. “Everything is going just fine.”

***

Carl paced with frustration in front of a small military airport outside of Paris, his eyes glued to the sky that was a little red from the sunset. His men stood silently close by next to two jeeps.

Carl’s body tensed while pointing at the sky. “He is here!”

Everyone straightened in a military stance as their eyes glued to the small plane that was heading towards the airport. No one said anything until the plane landed then they darted towards it and their voices ranged as they all did the military greeting when a familiar man appeared from inside the plane.

Carl rushed towards the man. “Welcome in Paris, Herr Himmler.”

Himmler, the director of the Gestapo, gave him a stern look, before leaving the plane and walked closer to him.

“I hope you have enough proofs of the dangerous accusation you claimed, Carl.” Himmler stated firmly.

“When I tell you everything, sir, you will realize how dangerous the whole thing is.”

Himmler pierced his lips as he walked towards the car waiting for him between the jeeps and motorbikes. “The message you sent me was very dangerous. It worried the Führer himself. He ordered me to come here and take the case myself.”

They got inside the car and Carl started to talk.

“It all started when we captured three spies after the appearance of a strange aircraft in Paris’ sky.”

“Spies? Strange aircraft? When did this happen?”

“Two whole days ago, sir. At 12 o’clock at noon tomorrow it will be whole three days.”

“Two and a half days?!” Himmler’s face was flushed in anger. “And no one told us? Are you out of your mind? This is very dangerous. What if that aircraft was a new invention by the allies?”

“This is indeed a probability, sir.”

“A probability? This should be the first guess!”

“Of course, sir. But-“

“And where is that aircraft now? Did you bring it down? Did you keep it?  What does it look like?”

Carl swallowed the lump in his throat before answering. “Actually sir we never managed to find it.”

“You never what?!” Himmler screamed in pure rage before calming down and leveled Carl with a firm glare. “Tell me everything that happened in the past two days and a half. Don’t leave a single detail.”

    

 

 


	47. Chapter 47

Steve was struggling with keeping himself on his feet as Tony held him up firmly and close to him, while Holdstein continued to laugh like a maniac.

“I have to admit, your plan was good, and it could have fooled me if I wasn’t a genius.” He walked closer to the cylinder and continued viciously. “You played your parts perfectly, that I believed that poor Tony had a breakdown so bad that he let it out on the resistance’s men and they had to kill him and his friends. But thanks to the Captain here, I remembered what I read about James Barnes and Peggy Carter that confirmed to me that they won’t really lose it like that. Besides, no matter how stressed you are, you are not stupid enough to provoke an army of armed men.” He smirked before adding. “Then came the dental check.”

“Oh, that explains it.” Sydney sneered at him.

“Lucky me that the dental check is an old thing, so it didn’t take long for the doctors to know the real ages of these burned bodies.” He let out another laugh. “And as you can guess, they didn’t really match your ages.”

“Fucking bastard.” Dean snapped angrily.

“No need for insults, Castiel’s bitch. Just admit that you lost the fight.” Holdstein leaned towards Dean. “Come on, say it.”

“You really think so?” Dean said coldly instead.

Holdstein, obviously taken aback by Dean’s words, glared at him. “What did you do? What are you planning?”

“You mean, what was already done.” Dean smirked at him.

“We didn’t come alone, Fucker.” Tony growled as he adjusted his tight grip on Steve, who leaned heavily against him from how weak he was. That fucking Holdstein must have injected him with a large dose of that fucking drug. “Your hideout is surrounded by an army of the French resistance, waiting for us to get out, and if we didn’t? They will storm in and turn this place into dust, which means you only have two choices: either you accept to live in this era and let Sydney wipe your memories again or die.”

Holdstein was silent for a few seconds, his face was emotionless.

“What if I told you that there is a third choice?” Holdstein said slowly.

“What choice?” Dean asked carefully.

“This.” Holdstein then, turned to one of his machines and pressed a blue button. “Now the resistance’s men won’t find anything to attack.”

The room glowed with a blue light and Tony felt Steve stiffen in his arms.

“What is that? What is happening?” Steve demanded but only Tony could hear the note of fear in his voice.

“Teleport again, pretty face.” Holdstein answered with a smirk. “The whole place is teleported to another place, miles away from its original spot.” Then he leaned towards Dean again. “By the way, Angelic fuck toy, this cylinder you are in is made of pure energy. It can let in sound and light, but unfortunately it doesn’t let in air, which means the air inside will only be enough for one hour.”

Dean and Tony tensed, while Steve just stared at Tony and pulled him closer.

Meanwhile, Sydney’s attention was drawn elsewhere. She was too busy staring at one specific machine.

A machine that made her ignore everything happening around her.

“Now I will take the words of our handsome genius here.” Holdstein started gesturing towards a fuming Tony. “You have two choices, either you accept living in this era forever and hand over your time ship or die here in this cylinder like trapped rats.”

Dean was about to say something but Sydney beat him to it.

“It’s you!” Sydney exclaimed suddenly, startling all of them.

“Me what?” Holdstein asked in confused surprise.

Sydney moved forward and pushed Dean aside so she was facing Holdstein head on.

“You are that guy who sent the death messages!” Sydney shouted in anger while pointing at him in accusation.

Dean, Tony and Steve stared at her in confusion.

“Death messages? What messages? Is this another trick?” Holdstein snapped sharply.

“This is a space transmitter, right?” Sydney yelled while pointing at the machine that caught her eyes earlier.

Holdstein turned to look at what she was pointing at before saying carefully. “It is supposed to be a time transmitter. I can send messages with it through time and space to any era I want.”

“Of course it’s you. You are responsible for the destruction of earth in the future!”

Dean and Tony’s eyes widened in understanding while Steve just trailed his eyes between them completely lost.

“What do you mean, you fucking bitch?” Holdstein shouted in frustration.

“You! You are the crazy man who sent universal messages saying in it that you are the fucking emperor of earth and soon will be the emperor of the whole fucking universe!”

Holdstein’s body flinched. “How the hell did you know that?”

“I should have fucking known! Only you would be crazy enough to do this! You will destroy everything!”

“Just say what you mean already!”

“What I mean is that your ego that made you send those two messages through time and space will cause the destruction of earth with no way to save it!”

“How?” Holdstein demanded angrily.

Sydney’s fists clinched in anger and was vaguely aware of her eyes lighting up bright blue by her grace which made Holdstein step back feeling that he was looking at Castiel himself instead of his descendant.

“The whole universe received your egotistic, narcissistic messages. One planet took it as a warning of an upcoming invasion, so they decided to wipe out Earth before the invasion, and the cosmic map you sent along with the messages helped them locate us and send their strongest bombs to Earth after receiving their first message, and it almost wiped out the planet when it reach it after decades, but it was stopped by the first Avengers.”

“You mean that bomb is coming in our near future?” Tony asked with wide eyes.

“Yes! And it was so strong that when you guys blew it up thousands of kilometers away from Earth it made a huge black hole that almost consumed the Earth.”

“How the hell did we stop that?” Dean’s face paled at that.

“The point is, the second bomb is ten times stronger than that one!”

Both Dean and Tony gaped at that.

“H-how strong is it going to be?” Tony asked anxiously.

“It will be strong enough to wipe the whole solar system.” Sydney answered bitterly.

“Bullshit!” Holdstein muttered angrily.

“It is the truth, asshole! When those aliens received your second message where you said you are the emperor of the universe no doubt, they panicked and made a powerful bomb then sent it to Earth to do what the first one failed at. It took them a while to make it and send it. This time, there was absolutely no way to stop it from destroying us all."

“There was a way.” Dean murmured as he stared at Sydney. “An unusual way.”

Sydney glanced at him then and Dean was struck with how much she looked like Cas right then. Filled with righteous fury, eyes glowing dangerously. He felt his heart banging loudly in his chest. His future self must be really proud.

She turned back to Holdstein, anger coming off of her in waves.

“Because of you, my whole world is gone! I have been stranded through time for years searching for you! Years of feeling like I failed my family! Years of being away from everyone I love!” she snarled as she stared him down. “You are going to pay for this! You will pay for every single moment I wasted from my life looking for you to stop your insanity!”

“Bullshit. All of this is bullshit.” Holdstein shook his head vehemently. “Your whole story is just bullshit. You are just trying to scare me.” then he leaned towards her with a smirk. “Besides, I only sent one message.”

“Really?” Sydney’s eyes let up in hope.

“But I will send the second one after my victory.” He added, his smirk widening. “After the ship is in my hands and I get control of history.” Then he looked down at his watch. “I don’t think I will wait long for this. Everything will be over after fifty minutes.” Then he made his way towards the door with a laugh. “Enjoy the air while you still have it.” He turned back to them before laughing again. “I bet the resistance’s men are confused as hell right now.” then he slammed the door behind him.

“Dammit!” Dean yelled in frustration, while Steve looked at Tony sadly and tiredly. Tony pulled him closer to wrap his arms around him, ignoring the fact that this wasn’t his husband yet. He doesn’t care anymore and seemed that neither did Steve judging from the way he wrapped his arms back around him.

Sydney sat down on the floor and hid her face in her hands then tried to take deep breaths to calm herself down.

“Syd?” Dean called gently as the three of them lowered themselves on the floor next to her.

Sydney raised her head towards him. Their hearts broke as they saw the tears in her eyes.

“For seven years.” She whispered, her voice pained. “For seven years I have been in this. I didn’t see my family for seven fucking years.”

Steve reached out carefully to take her hand gently and squeezed it comfortingly.

She looked at him and saw that he was smiling gently but weakly at her. Even though he was tired and weak he was still trying to comfort her.

“I think I’d like to hear your story, Sydney.” He stated with a small smile.

“Yeah, me too. The whole version. Not the clipped one you told us in the present.” Tony added with a raised eyebrow.

“Right now? Shouldn’t we try to find a way out of this first?”

“This first, find a way out after.” Dean said stubbornly.

“Fine.” She sighed. “I will tell you the full version.”


	48. Chapter 48

Fury rubbed his chin as he checked the project Sam and Jane presented him before he looked up at them.

“Do you have any idea how much this project will cost? The amount of money we will need to build these broadcasting towers? Can’t we emit this frequency from our satellites?”

“No way. It needs to be emitted from Earth.” Jane shook her head firmly.

“I don’t know. The cost is-“

“What cost are you talking about? Didn’t you talk all the time about the future of the Earth and the need to bring Sydney back?” Sam exclaimed in frustration. “And when we find the way to bring everyone back you talk about the cost?”

“We want everyone back, but what you just presented is just a theory. We can’t spend almost billion dollars for just a theory. And of course you can’t take from Stark’s money since he isn’t here. Even the Captain, who Stark gave him the authorization to use his money and he never used it, is in a coma and can’t help you with that.”

“All scientific facts were theories before.” Bruce pointed out with a glare.

“Just try to understand.”

“Understand what?” Castiel snapped suddenly in anger. “Do you care about their return or not?”

“Of course we care but-“

“But what? You placed a certain price for them you are not planning surpass it?”

“Just try to understand I-“ he cut himself off when his eyes landed on Bucky who was on the other side of the room. “You do know that he is on the top wanted people list, right?”

They looked at Bucky then back at him.

“Who?” Castiel said nonchalantly.

“James Barnes? The Winter Soldier? The one you are hiding here.”

“There’s no James Barnes here.” Castiel just shrugged casually.

“I am literally looking right at him!”

Castiel turned to his team. “Do you know who he is talking about?” and they shook their heads with secret smiles.

“Nope.”

“He is probably seeing things. Old age would do that to you.”

“Who’s Barnes?”

“Then who is this?” Fury practically shouted in frustration pointing at Bucky who was watching the scene with wide, shocked eyes.

“Oh, him? This is our distant cousin, Jack.” Sam answered with a small smile. “Come, Jack say hi to the nice man.”

Bucky approached them carefully and Sam placed a hand on his shoulder with a smile, then they all looked back at Fury with smug smiles on their faces.

“Fine.” Fury sighed in resignation. “There is no Barnes here. I will go now and see what I can do for your project. No matter the cost.”

With that, he left the room and they sagged in relief.

“I really don’t know how to handle all this kindness thrown at me.” Bucky shook his head with a disbelieving chuckle.

“You will get used to it.” They answered together without messing a beat.

***

 “As I told you before, in my time, I am the leader of the Avengers.”

Sydney started while playing with her hands in a nervous gesture. She must have inherited it from Tony. “The team is literally my family, they are your descendants and the Avengers have been our family since we were born. I was chosen to be the leader because according to them, it is in my genes, thanks for that responsibility by the way.” She rolled her eyes at them. Tony and Dean just shrugged unapologetically. “The first Avengers are our council or something like that. When it considered the fate of the world they are the ones who take the reins and make the tough decisions, and that’s exactly what happened.” She sighed and looked up at them. “Castiel and St-“ she cut herself off and looked nervously at Steve who was listening intently then to Tony who shook his head at her, it was wise if Steve didn’t know that part of his future. It’d be harder to explain how the hell did he live that long. “Uhm, Cas and my other grandpa had a plan. By then future Tony, my grand- uhm, whatever, and my dad just finished building the time ship, but the time maps were incomplete which meant whoever went in a time jump he will be lost like I said before, but there was no enough time to finish the maps, the mission must be done. So, they asked JARVIS to elect who was perfect for that mission. He elected two people. I was one of them.”

“I don’t understand how the hell we allowed you to go on a mission like this.” Dean shook his head in disbelieve. “Why didn’t we stop you? Why didn’t your parents?”

“Each one of you tried to take my place in this so I won’t have to go.” Sydney shook her head with a chuckle. “But it was either the fate of the world or me, so Castiel and St-grandpa had to make the tough decision. So, future Dean, future Tony and my dad helped in preparing the ship by building the robot guardian to protect me and the ship. Then we set off and-“

“Wait, we?” Dean cut her off and she snapped her mouth shut and stared at him. “You weren’t alone?”

She looked at him silently for a second. “We didn’t know what to expect or how much time it will take until we manage to figure out the time map. One of us could get killed in an era so the other have to continue the mission.”

“So, there is another future Avenger in our time right now?” Dean asked with wide eyes. “And they are a descendant from the original Avengers too?”

Sydney sighed then nodded.

“You knew that the hole we chose will lead us here, didn’t you?” Tony asked suddenly.

Sydney bit her lip nervously. “The part about being lost in time was true. We traveled through the holes randomly. But the ship’s computer recorded each trip and was trying to analyze the map to figure out its secrets. When we reached the Nil Zone, the computer pointed out that that specific hole leads to a time during the 20th century but it didn’t point out when exactly.”

“What if I decided to choose another one then?”

“You wouldn’t have.” She smiled a little. “You would always choose the hole right in front of the ship. It is in your nature.”

“So you have been controlling the ship so that it faces that specific hole without us noticing?”

“I admit that.”

“Great. That means you are the one responsible in putting us in this situation.” Dean sighed in frustration. “So, do you have a way out of this, miss- wait, out of curiosity, what is your code name?”

“Huntress.” Sydney sighed and Dean gave an appreciative nod. “And no, I don’t know how to get out of this. This energy cylinder is in a further away future from mine.”

“Splendid. So we will die like trapped rats.”

“I don’t think so.” Steve stated after staying silent all that time, just watching them with deep attention even in his weakened state.

“What do you mean?” Tony asked curiously.

“Holdstein still needs you guys alive, until he gets his hands on your ship, which will be his way back home after he screws up history here. As long as he doesn’t know where it is, he won’t risk killing you.”

“Exactly.” Holdstein’s firm voice sounded suddenly in the room as he stepped into view in front of them. They immediately got back on their feet. “You are right, Captain. I can’t risk killing them until I have the ship.”

“You have no idea how happy I am about that.” Dean snarked while rolling his eyes.

“But meanwhile, I will not waste any more time.” Holdstein pointed out as he moved around the room. “How can we solve this? You will never give up, even if it considered your lives.” He turned back to them and pressed something in his pocket. “But what about the Captain’s life?”

Steve gasped as he felt a force pulling him from Tony’s arms and threw him out of the cylinder where another cylinder surrounded him on his own.

“Leave him alone, you fucking bastard!” Tony screamed in pure rage while Dean and Sydney yelled in anger.

“Don’t try, lover boy.” Holdstein laughed. “I told you I won’t waste any more time.” Then he pointed at Steve. “You are not scared of death, but I will let you watch your beloved Captain as he choked to death in this small cylinder, which will only give him enough air for only ten minutes, which is only the time you have to make your decision.” His eyes lit up as he continued. “Now, let me ask you, would your fragile hearts handle this?”

          


	49. Chapter 49

Horror, awe and shock.

These were the three emotions written all over the French resistance’s men as they stared at the empty place that previously held Holdstein’s hideout before it glowed and vanished right in front of their eyes.

They stood frozen for a whole minute like statues, their jaws slacked and their eyes wide.

“Did you see that?!” Bernard suddenly exclaimed, breaking their spell.

“It vanished right in front of our eyes.” Peggy murmured in shock.

“Was it really here or it was an illusion?” Bucky muttered with wide eyes.

Alain lowered his gun slowly, still staring at the empty place.

“We can’t handle this.” Alain stated with a frozen face.

“What are you saying, Alain?” Brigitte stared at him with wide eyes.

“I am saying that we can’t handle these devil games!” he turned to her sharply. “Maybe the future people are capable to face each other, but we can’t! We don’t even know what we are up against.”

“We can’t just abandon them!” Brigitte exclaimed starting to panic.

“And what about Steve?” Bucky objected nervously.

Alain was silent for a few seconds. “We have our fair share of losses since the war started.”

“What is that supposed to mean?! Are you going to abandon Steve?” Bucky shouted in anger.

“Who said we can even get him back?!” Alain shouted back. “Are you blind? Didn’t you just see what happened right in front of our eyes? We followed what the future men planned perfectly, and what did that get us? Nothing! We could have vanished along with this building. What would we have done then? How can we face such magic?”

“We can’t leave Steve and the future guys! They need-“

“He’s right.” Peggy sighed interrupting him. Bucky and Brigitte turned to her in shock.

“Peggy, what are you saying? This is Steve we are talking about!”

“I know.” She said looking pained. “But Alain is right. We can’t handle this. It’s too much. And this is war. We are bound to lose loved ones all the time. If Steve is truly alive he will find his way back to us. Until then, he is lost to us.”

Silence fell on them and Bucky stared at her as he felt his heart shattering in his chest, while Brigitte let her tears fall freely on her face in grief and bitterness.

“Our duty is to forget all of this.” Alain announced after swallowing the lump in his throat. “We will forget the future men. We will forget this fight. We are still in war. Our country needs us more than them. We are France’s last hope.” Then he straightened up to his full height. “The French Resistance is permanently out of this fight.”

***

The strangest thing about time is that it passes slowly when you want it to pass fast, and passes so fast when you need it the most.

So, the minutes passes in crazy speed inside Holdstein’s hideout and Steve started to choke for air.

He was trying to control his nerves so he won’t consume even more air, but his heart was beating hard in his chest in fear when his lungs started to hurt from lack of oxygen.

“He won’t let him die, right? He needs him.” Sydney murmured in panic as she stared at Steve.

“He needs us more.” Dean bit his lower lip bitterly. “He doesn’t care if Steve died. It will actually benefits him. That will change history drastically and the future will be messed up completely. Also, it will erase you and probably most of your family.”

“Thank you. I didn’t know that at all!” Sydney snapped in frustration.

“Just calm down! We need to think about a way out of this!” Dean was seriously trying to stay calm in this situation.

Meanwhile, Tony’s eyes were glued to Steve and watched him as his knees started to shake because of the damn drug, his chest rising and falling fast, trying to get in air that was thinning fast, his face that was trying to stay calm but Tony could see the fear in his eyes.

His heart was too weak to handle this.

“No. there is no time to think.” Tony shook his head sharply and turned to Sydney and pushed his hands in her pockets while ignoring her shocked yelp, and pulled something from inside. “I will not let Steve die right in front of my eyes.” then turned and yelled. “Holdstein! Where is the fuck are you?!”

Dean gripped his arm tightly. “Tony, stop and think!” Dean hissed. “We can’t give him what he wants! We need to find another way!”

Tony turned to him sharply. “If the roles were reversed and Castiel was there instead of Steve you wouldn’t have stopped and think!” Tony shouted and Dean flinched back since he couldn’t argue with that. Tony turned around again. “Holdstein! Show up you fucker!”

He suddenly felt a sudden force pull him out of the cylinder and threw him a meter from it then another cylinder wrapped around him, the same moment Holdstein showed up.

“I am here, lover boy.” Holdstein said with a victorious smile. “I believe that you made your decision.”

Tony glanced at Steve, who collapsed on his knees, face flushed and was staring at him with wide eyes and shaking his head at him, telling not to do it with his eyes.

“Yes, I did.” He said in determination.

“Tony, please.” Sydney pleaded and he looked back at her and Dean. They were looking at him pleadingly. He was saving the both of them too. He didn’t want to lose anyone from his family.

“Set him free and I will give you the key of the time ship.” He stated firmly, looking back at Holdstein.

“The key first.” Holdstein smirked and held out his hand.

“Set him free!” Tony objected sharply.

“The key. Now!” The general shouted firmly.

“Tony. Please, don’t.” Steve’s choked out voice called out to him.

“I’m sorry.” Tony looked at him, pained. “I have to.”

Then he opened his hand to reveal what he took from Sydney’s pocket.

The silver ball she showed him before.

And what must be the key to the ship.

***

 “We made all the necessary arrangements.”

Fury announced as he entered the room. They all looked relieved at his words. “But it will take hours to start the broadcast.”

“It must be done after six hours from now.” Castiel stated anxiously.

“Why six hours?” Fury asked curiously.

“From what I coaxed from Steve in his coma, after six hours, they will be in that era for whole three days.”

“And this is all the time the ship needs to charge and be ready for another time jump.” Sam continued.

“And hopefully, they would be in the Nil Zone then.” Natasha finished.

“How can you be sure?” Fury inquired doubtfully.

“From what I managed to coax from Steve, he is still with them, which meant he will be until they leave the forties. Then, hopefully, he will wake up when they are out of that era.” Castiel stated while pinching the bridge of his nose, face pained a little.

“We are still preparing everything. The moment we are ready, you will manage to emit the needed frequency and will be broadcasted from all the space stations to surround the whole planet and change the color of our hole.” Fury reported in attempt to relax the angel a little.

“How did you make the arrangements so fast?” Clint asked curiously.

“Well, it was impossible to build a series of stations to emit the frequency around the whole planet. But Coulson reminded me that we already have old stations from decades ago that was used for old space experiments and we forgot about it when its technology became old. So, we made our calls to all the countries that have these stations to tell them we will reuse them for an experiment. After we got their acceptance, we started to prepare the stations to emit the needed frequency.”

“Great. That’s great.” Castiel nodded in relief.

Fury then turned to Bruce and Charlie. “What did you find about the second traveler?”

“We told JARVIS to compare Sydney’s genetic code with all the codes you have in SHELD and we are still waiting for the results to see if it matches anyone’s in its differences.” Bruce answered as he checked JARVIS’ progress so far.

“I have to admit, this was a strange idea from Queen. It is not even scientifically accurate.” Natasha commented with a shrug.

“I know.” Fury sighed tiredly. “But we are hanging to anything that might lead us to the spy. You have no idea how it affected everyone when he managed to hack into our most classified files.”

“That is not so hard.” Charlie shrugged nonchalantly.

“What are you talking about?” Fury turned to her sharply. “Do you have any idea how complicated it is to hack into-“

“I know that.” she rolled her eyes at him. “But it is complicated with our time’s standards only.”

“What do you mean?”

“Computer programs advance very fast. What looks complicated to us now will be a child’s play a year later. To the time traveler, we’re pretty much primitive.”

“How the hell didn’t we think of that?” Clint groaned. “It’s so obvious I-“

“Oh my God!” Bruce’s shocked gasp made everyone freeze and turn to him sharply.

“What? What happened?” Bucky ran over to them with wide eyes.

“Bruce?” Thor and Castiel called out anxiously, a little unsettled from the pure shock written all over Bruce’s face.

“Sydney’s genetic c-code.” Bruce started after swallowing the lump in his throat. “It-it matched four people.”

“What?!” Fury exclaimed while the others’ eyes widened.

“You mean there is four time travelers?” Castiel asked nervously.

“No, Castiel, you don’t understand! It matched in a way that only happens with first degree relatives! Plus, the four people it matched with could never be the time travelers.”

“Why is that? And what do you mean first degree relatives?” Sam asked impatiently.

“JARVIS, show them the results.” Bruce called out.

“As you wish, Dr. Banner.” The AI answered and the results showed in one of the holoscreens.

Everyone froze and gaped as they stared.

 They knew why none of the four people could be time travelers.

Because Sydney’s genetic code matched with four Avengers.

Two of them lost in time. The third in a coma. And the fourth stood there, staring, frozen and heart beating loudly in his chest.

Even though he suspected it, he never actually thought it would be true.

He never actually imagined that Sydney would be the grandchild of the four of them.

He didn’t expect this one at all.

A sharp gasp broke them from their frozen trance and they all turned so fast to its source only to feel overwhelming panic.

Because the gasp came from Steve who was writhing on the couch, choking for air.

Everyone was immediately on their feet and rushing to him. Castiel and Bucky reached him first, almost shaking from panic.

“What? What is happening to him?” Bucky yelled in panic as he stared at Steve while he gasped for air and looked like he was struggling for it.

Castiel was immediately on his knees and gripped Steve’s thrashing head and used his grace to check him out and heal whatever was happening.

But he suddenly paled and looked up at his horrified team.

“What, Castiel? What’s wrong with the Captain?” Thor exclaimed in terror.

“Help him! He can’t even breathe!” Natasha yelled in panic.

“I can’t help him.” Castiel whispered with wide eyes, filled with fear. “I can’t.”

“Why not?” Bucky asked, his face paling.

“It’s not him who needs help. It’s his past self.” Castiel swallowed the lump in his throat. “Past Steve is currently dying from air deprivation.”

 

 

       


	50. Chapter 50

Himmler’s face was firm as he listened to Carl who was waving his arms around as he told him everything.

“Everything I am saying, sir, is true and I have witnesses that can confirm this.” Carl said anxiously. “General Holdstein pretended to be firm and cruel with the three spies, then he let them escape and ordered our men not to kill them and claimed that the whole thing is very dangerous and secret, while you in Berlin have no idea about the whole thing, then finally he vanished completely with Captain America when the three spies attacked our headquarters and no soldier saw him when he escaped.” Himmler just stayed silent processing everything. “More importantly, I have what confirms that Holdstein was the one who killed Colonel Von Darke, not the spies.”

“This is a very dangerous thing to say, Carl.” Himmler snapped sharply.

“I have what confirms it, sir.” Carl pointed out before he continued. "The two guards of Holdstein’s office confirmed that Von Darke was alive after the spies’ escape and asked to meet the General and spent some time with him before they heard the muted sound of a  bullet and they didn’t see the Colonel since then.”

Himmler furrowed his eyebrows anxiously. “This is not enough.”

Carl pushed his hand inside his pocket then pulled out a bullet from inside. “What about this?”

“What’s this?” Himmler asked carefully.

“The bullet that killed Colonel Von Darke. The autopsy doctor got it out for me. Look at it carefully, sir. It is not a normal bullet. It is from a special gun preserved for the leaders only. From Holdstein’s gun.”

Himmler was silent this time for a whole minute. A minute that lasted forever for Carl, before Himmler straightened up and addressed him firmly. “Send in the communication officer. I need to talk to the Führer himself. Alone.”

“As you wish, sir.” Carl called out with a huge smile on his face.

***

Holdstein’s eyes let up as he stared at the silver ball in Tony’s hand.

“Dammit, Tony!” Sydney exclaimed bitterly.

Tony lowered his eyes without commenting.

“He didn’t have much of a choice.” Holdstein commented with a mocking smirk. Then, he reached out until his hand preached the cylinder while his other hand was clutching his belt.

Suddenly, Tony darted forward.

Dean’s eyes widened as he watched Tony grab Holdstein’s arm and used it to pull himself out of the cylinder like it was never there and punched Holdstein who was caught off guard and stumbled backwards.

“You little shit!” Holdstein straightened up and reached to his belt again, but Tony gripped his wrest hard before he touched it.

“Don’t try.” Tony stated firmly. “We know that all your controllers are in your belt. We watched your every move.”

“You actually think you can face me?” Holdstein mocked and punched Tony hard.

The punch was strong enough to make Tony stumble backward but he never let go of Holdstein’s wrest.

“I have no other choice.” Tony exclaimed and punched the General in the stomach. “Whatever the results.”

Holdstein gripped Tony from his shirt and pulled him forward.

“Fine, genius! Endure the results!” he screamed into his face in anger.

Tony smirked as his hands moved fast. “You will endure it too.”

Anger raged inside Holdstein when he saw his belt in Tony’s hand. “Fuck!”

He raised Tony from the ground and threw him at the wall violently.

“Dammit!” Dean shouted in anger when he saw Tony hit the wall hard and then fall to the ground. “Come on, Tony! You are doing great, don’t give up.” Then he growled in frustration. “We need to get out of this thing! We can’t leave Tony face him alone.”

Sydney bit her lower lip in panic and trailed her eyes towards Steve, who seemed to forget his situation and his darkening face and haggard breaths for air, too busy staring with wide, fear filled eyes at Tony.

Tony then got back to his feet and faced Holdstein again, who darted towards him like an angry bull.

“You are going to die here! you hear me? You are going to die!”  Holdstein screamed.

Tony leaned away lightly, dodging Holdstein’s punch then leaned sideways to avoid a kick. He gripped the heavy belt with both his hands and slammed it into Holdstein’s face with all his strength, shouting: “Just shut up already!”

The hit was so hard, that Holdstein let out a strangled gasp as he stumbled backwards and fell to the floor motionless.

At the same moment, the cylinder vanished from around Sydney and Dean, immediately they rushed to him.

“Are you okay?” Dean asked in concern, looking Tony over for injuries.

Meanwhile, Sydney leaned down to check on Holdstein then straightened up and looked at them in confusion. “He’s dead.”

“Dead?!” Dean stared at her in surprise. “But the hit wasn’t that hard to kill a bull like him.”

Tony ignored all that and announced in panic: “The energy cylinder is still surrounding, Steve!”

Steve collapsed completely in the bottom of the cylinder, his face was a scary blue, his chest was rising and falling with effort and his eyes were half closed, like he was breathing his last breaths.

“God! He’s dying!” Dean exclaimed in panic.

Tony checked Holdstein’s belt fast with shaking hands. “All his controllers are in here. I am sure of it. I watched him press a button to trap us. But which one?!”

Dean looked around nervously, looking for anything that could break the energy wall.

“Wait, this cylinder starts from the ceiling of the room to the floor.” Sydney said hastily, staring at the cylinder. “We could try make a barrier between it and the ceiling or the floor, maybe it could-“

“There is no time to try, Syd! He’s dying!” Tony cut her off, panicking. He went back to checking the belt. “The button is here. If we pressed it the cylinder will vanish.”

“It won’t hurt if we tried.” Dean announced as he snatched a heavy chair and hit the cylinder with it as hard as he could.

A loud crack sounded in the room and glowed in blue light. Dean felt like lightening hit his body and threw him across the room and hit the wall violently then fell on his face.

“Fuck! That hurts!” he exclaimed in pain. He tried to get up but every cell in his body was protesting in pain which made him hit the floor again. “Ow.”

“You used a metal chair to hit an energy wall. Of course this will happen.” Sydney yelled in frustration.

Dean just pierced his lips and didn’t try to get up again.

“We need to do something!” Tony shouted in fear. “I can’t let him die right in front of my eyes like that!”

Dean bit his lower lip bitterly. “Fuck! Fuck, it didn’t disa-“ he cut himself off and just stared at Holdstein’s body in shock.

He saw the general’s fingers twitch.

He have no doubt about that.

But that was impossible.

Holdstein died. That what Sydney said.

He opened his mouth to warn Tony and Sydney but the latter cut him off.

“Wait, Tony! The cylinder around us vanished when you slammed the belt into Holdstein’s face.” Sydney pointed out excitedly.

“You’re right!” Tony exclaimed with wide eyes. He raised the belt and turned to the energy wall. “Maybe this is the way.”

Dean saw him slam the belt against the wall with all his strength.

“No! Not like that!” Dean shouted but it was too late.

The crack that sounded in the room this time was more loud and violent.

It was more an explosion that threw Tony and Sydney violently back to fall on the floor hard while the whole room let up in blinding light.

Then, suddenly, everything went quiet.

All the bodies were scattered around the room motionless.

For a few seconds nothing moved.

Then one of the bodies flinched sharply, before they stood up slowly and looked around at the others’ bodies.

The one who woke up was the last one that should be awake in that critical situation.

Because it was General Holdstein himself.


	51. Chapter 51

Coulson and Hill’s eyes widened as they read the report of the results of comparing Sydney’s genetic code for the fifth time in Fury’s office.

“How can this be true, sir? It’s not even possible!” Maria exclaimed looking up at Fury. “The results confirms that she has the DNA of the four of them, which means she came completely from them! This is anatomically not possible!”

“Honestly? I expect anything from them by now.” he sighed while pinching the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think they have the word impossible in their book.”

“The genetic code could only match like this if it was between first degree relatives.” Coulson stated still looking in shock. “Which means that agent Sydney is their granddaughter. Their children married each other. Why am I not surprised?”

“You know what that means?” Maria said looking up at them.

“She didn’t lie. She is an Avenger from the future.” Fury answered with another sigh. “She couldn’t possibly have any intention in harming us in any way.”

“And her partner must be another Avenger, then. Another descendant.” Coulson added.

“I wonder whose descendant.” Maria murmured quietly.

“That doesn’t matter right now.” Fury stated firmly. “These two came to our time for a reason. A reason considers our future. They came here to protect it.”

“So?”

“So, obviously we should help them with it. Instead of fighting them. That is if Agent Hunter managed to come back.”

***

Everyone watched with held breaths as Steve finally settled down and seemed to be breathing normally again. They sagged in relief and tried to calm their still racing hearts.

“God, what is happening to them there?” Clint muttered nervously.

“They must have fallen in Holdstein’s hands.” Castiel announced grimly. “Only him will dare to try to remove Steve from history, but I am guessing that Dean and Tony didn’t let that happen.”

“Where is the fuck past me in the middle of all of this?” Bucky snapped while he was still staring at Steve nervously. “How did I let that happen?”

“You don’t remember?” Thor asked in confusion.

“No, just fragments then and there. I can’t even tell which memory happened first.”

Castiel sighed and sat on an armchair and rubbed his face with his hands tiredly.

“Cas?” Sam called out carefully.

“Yes, Sam?” Castiel looked up at him and Sam was struck by how exhausted he looked.

“Are we going to talk about the results Bruce and Charlie found?” Natasha asked the question Sam couldn’t bring himself to ask.

“What? About Sydney apparently being the result of the union between Dean and I’s child with Steve and Tony’s child? I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that we will actually have children of our own.” Castiel deadpanned looking way too calm for this.

“How are you so calm about this?” Clint asked in confusion.

“I expect anything by now. If a fire breathing dragon came out of the fridge any second now I still will not be rattled much.” Castiel just shrugged.

Sam couldn’t really blame him. This wasn’t really the strangest thing they came across.

“I am going to be an uncle someday.” Bucky wondered with a smile, taking all of this easily.

That seemed to make the others relax about the idea and took it in.

“I will be the best uncle in Midgard.” Thor grinned enthusiastically. “No one can compete with me.”

“Let’s hope that the kids will inherit more from Cas and Steve, and would stay away from Dean and Tony’s nasty genes.” Clint commented with a grimace.

“Let’s just focus on bringing the other parents back.” Natasha rolled her eyes. “I am pretty sure that Castiel and Steve needs them to actually bring those rugrats.”

Castiel watched as they all rushed to get back to their work and he trailed his eyes back to Steve’s now still form.

Him and Dean will have a family. They will have a child. A child that will fall in love with Steve and Tony’s child. And they will have Sydney. Sydney who will be brave and stubborn enough to take a mission that she knew that she might never come back from just to save her world and her family.

The future is certainly looking up.

And he wasn’t planning to let that future slip from between his fingers.

He will not let anything or anyone take that away from him.

***

Holdstein got up slowly on his feet and he stood there, looking at the scattered bodies on the floor. Steve was free from the cylinder and was also unconscious.

“Fuck.” He growled in anger as his eyes trailed over the room. He pressed a button in his jacket to stop the device that decreases his heart beats when he lose consciousness, so he would look dead. He turned to check on his machines. “Everything is alright.” then he pulled out a communication device from his pocket. “This is General Holdstein, initiate plan B.” he looked around and grabbed his shattered belt from the floor. “Dammit, that crazy little shit ruined all of the controllers. No more teleport.”

He felt an overwhelming rage but he ignored it and leaned down to grab Tony and drag him towards a chair in the corner of the room. The chair was huge with wires attached to it and looked like an electric chair. He threw Tony on it, tied him to it and attached the wires to his body.

“I told you that you are going to die, Iron Man.” Holdstein muttered viciously as he attached Tony to the execution chair. “It’s not a normal electric chair as you will soon find out, when pure energy run through your body that no human can handle. Your body will turn a few seconds into a pile of dust. How ironic. A pile of dust is all going to be left off the great Tony Stark.”

“I don’t think he will appreciate that. He doesn’t like dust.” A firm voice came from behind him.

Holdstein turned fast and tensed when his eyes landed on Dean, who stood up heavily while pointing his gun at his head. “Now, be a gentleman and free him like a good boy.”

Holdstein took a step back carefully. “How did you woke up so soon?”

    “I am full of surprises.” Dean smirked even though he was making a legendary effort to stay on his feet and not stumble while the whole room seemed to be rotating in front his eyes. “Didn’t you hear me? Free him or I will blow your brain to bits.”

Holdstein gripped the small lever in the chair Tony was strapped on. “I wonder if you will actually dare to do it.”

“Would you really like to test that?

Holdstein gripped the lever tighter. “Why not? It will be fun. You shoot me, and I will destroy your little friend here.”

“You can’t. I will kill you before you do.”

“Wrong, pea brain. Even if you shot me in the head, my hand will drag the lever when I fall, and pure energy will flow through these wires and right into your friend’s body and turn him to dust.”

Dean’s eyes trailed over the wires Holdstein mentioned. “You are trying to play me.”

“Play you? Why would I even try? If you haven’t noticed, you are not really as smart as them. You can’t keep up with them or with me. You only think about shooting stuff and killing things. Nothing more.”

Dean’s brows furrowed as his eyes scanned the wires again, at the same time a small groan escaped Sydney’s lips when she started to wake up.

“Come on!” Holdstein shouted viciously. “Make your choice. Are you going to throw your gun or I drag the lever?”

Dean seemed to think for a few seconds before he straightened up. “You are going to drag it anyway.”

“What do you mean?”

Dean raised his gun fast. “It means I made my choice, Asshole.”

The moment he said those words, he shot his gun and Holdstein dragged the lever down.

 

 

  


	52. Chapter 52

Tony startled awake when he heard the bullet. His head snapped up with wide eyes as he stared at the scene.

Dean was standing a few feet away from him with his gun pointing at something over Tony’s head. Behind Dean, Sydney was trying to help Steve up, who was panting hard like he was trying to get as much air inside his lungs as he could.

Beside Tony, Holdstein was standing while gripping a small lever in the chair Tony was tied down on.

And for a few seconds, Tony didn’t understand what’s going on.

All he noticed was how flushed Holdstein’s face was while a huge smirk appeared on Dean’s lips.

“I’m sorry, genius fucker, can you tell me again how that I am not smart enough to keep up with fuckers like you?” Dean mocked, his smirk widening even more.

“How-How did you do it?” Holdstein muttered in a strangled voice.

“I didn’t need to be a genius to understand the situation.” Dean scoffed. “You are alive somehow. Tried to kill Tony with that hideous chair, then you told me yourself that the energy that will kill him will flow through these wires.” Then he shrugged. “So, obviously I just shot the wires instead of you.” he turned serious and pointed his gun at Holdstein. “Now it’s your turn.”

Dean shot him but Holdstein jumped to the side fast and dodged Dean’s bullet, then with another jump he passed through the door of the room and pushed a hidden button in the frame and let out a loud laugh.

“No, no don’t let him get away.” Sydney called out weakly.

Tony pulled at his restraints while Dean rushed after Holdstein, but a transparent barrier suddenly appeared at the door and Dean hit it and stumbled back to stare at Holdstein in shock.

Meanwhile, Steve moved towards Tony weakly to land on his knees in front of him and untied him as fast as he could.

“I am supposed to be the one who came here to save you.” Tony murmured while staring at Steve’s face.

“You did.” Steve whispered with a small weak smile as Tony got back on his feet and helped him up.

“You are trapped inside this room.” Holdstein announced viciously. “At the same time, another defense system is activated. In one minute, lethal laser beams will be unleashed from the ceiling to create a net that will kill anything that comes in its way.”

“And what about the time ship? Did you give up about it?” Sydney snapped sharply.

“Not at all.” Holdstein just shrugged with a smirk. “I now know that you have the key. So, I will just take the silver ball from your remains when the laser beams finished their job.”

“The silver ball? Did you really fall for that? It is not the key of the ship. It is just a weapon. You will have nothing after our death.”

“I will find a way inside you. There must be something inside you that connect you to the ship. I will find it. Believe that.” then he looked down at his watch. “Forty six seconds. Goodbye, future folks. I will see you in hell.”

He said it and turned around to leave the building.

“You go to hell on your own, bastard!” Dean shouted while shooting at the barrier.

The bullets hit the barrier and reflected from it to the inside of the room.

“Careful, Dean! You will kill us.” Steve exclaimed as he and Tony ducked to avoid the bullets.

“Me? And what about the laser beams the fucker talked about? Are they going to tickle us?” Dean said bitterly. “God, we don’t catch a break for even a second.”

“Maybe we could stop it before it activates.” Tony said while looking around at the machines inside the room.

“No, we can’t. He activated it from outside the room.” Sydney sighed before moving towards Dean. “Can I borrow your gun?”

“Why?” Dean asked while he handed it over.

Sydney answered while pointing the gun at a specific device: “If I only have one second to live, then I will spend it to destroy that transmitting device. That fucker must never send that second message.”

She said it then emptied the gun as she shot the device until it became just shattered pieces.

Tony pulled Steve closer to him and looked down at his watch.

Fifteen seconds.

Fourteen.

Thirteen.

Which meant that time is passing fast.

And there is no way to save themselves.

***

“Looks like it’s over, guys.” Dean announced bitterly as he stared at his watch, his eyes caught his wedding ring and felt physical pain hit his body at the thought of Cas. He just wanted to go back to him. He didn’t want to get sucked up in all of this. Was that too much to ask? To just go back to his husband and let the world burn. He doesn’t care anymore. He just needs to feel Cas’ warmth and presence again.

Now he will never feel it again and Castiel will be left in the present wondering with a broken heart why Dean never came back for him.

Meanwhile, Tony was looking around the room anxiously while only seven seconds left.

He wasn’t planning to let Steve die because of him. Not now or ever. Steve fucking deserves to be happy and not to die like a trapped rat.

Then his eyes landed on something.

“Quick! Let’s remove the smooth part of this table!” Tony suddenly called hastily.

The three of them rushed to do as he was told without asking any questions and they worked together to remove the smooth, metallic table top while the seconds flew by.

“Raise it above your heads and stay under it!” Tony instructed when they managed to remove it.

The moment they raised it above their heads and where completely under it, the laser beams where unleased with a loud hissing sound and many beams hit the table top above their heads and reflected off of it and away.

“That’s genius, dude!” Dean praised with wide eyes. “That fucker made everything in this room smooth and metallic so it won’t be ruined if he ever had to activate the laser. And you used that against him, which saved us.”

“Yeah, but for how long?” Steve said in frustration. They all turned to him in worry and he continue sharply: “Sure, that table top is protecting us from the lasers, but for how long? Are we going to carry it above our heads forever?”

“I don’t think it will go on for a long time.” Sydney murmured uncertainly.

“Don’t be so sure about that.” Tony commented grimly. “Maybe Holdstein won’t want to leave anything to chances. It will go on for a long time to make sure that we’re dead. Besides, the temperature of the room will soon rise to an unbearable degree soon.”

“What are we going to do then?” Steve asked nervously.

“We attack.” Dean answered firmly.

“Attack what?” Sydney asked in confusion.

Dean pointed at the door. “The door frame.”

He said it then leaned forward a little with the table top and made the laser divert after reflecting on it towards the door frame.

A loud hissing sounded in the room like it was coming from a dragon.

“Why everything from the future sounds so terrifying?” Steve muttered with a frown.

“Not everything. I promise.” Tony reassured him with a small smile despite their situation. Steve smiled back but Tony could detect the worry and anxiety in that small smile.

Just then, flames burst out from the door frame then a loud crack sounded in the room before the whole door fell to the floor with its frame.

“Don’t rush in.” Dean said firmly. “Move like one until we reach the door.”

They kept the table top above their heads until they were close to the door.

“Now!” Dean shouted the moment they reached it.

The four of them jumped through the door like one, leaving the table top to fall on the floor behind them.

“That was close.” Tony let out an almost hysterical chuckle.

“The most important thing is that I completed my mission.” Sydney smiled in relief.

“So, if the second bomb is not going to be sent to Earth, what will explain your journey?” Tony asked curiously.

“I don’t know. Maybe testing the time ship or something.”

“But how everyone will know that you did your mission if there was no mission at all?” Steve asked in confusion.

Sydney smiled as she looked at him then at Tony and Dean. “Don’t worry. They’ll know.”

Steve looked confused while Tony and Dean just smiled gently.

“Yeah. They’ll.” Dean murmured softly with a smile.

“That if we managed to return home.” Tony sighed.

His words made them silent for a few seconds before Dean spoke again. “Let’s just do our best.” Then he smirked slyly as he pulled something from his pocket. “By the way, I have a little gift for Holdstein.”

He pulled the trigger of the grenade in his hand and threw it inside the room they just escaped from. “Get out of here fast!”

They all ran out of the building as the explosion sounded behind them and threw them forwards violently to hit the ground.

A few seconds passed until everything quieted down, then Dean raised his head with a smile that froze on his face as he stared right in front of them “Uhm, guys?”

They all looked up and froze when they came face to face with a smirking Holdstein surrounded by a group of soldiers, who were pointing their guns at them.

      


	53. Chapter 53

Holdstein gripped Sydney’s hair harshly and pulled her head back cruelly.

“Listen, future bitch.” He shouted viciously to her face. “Your stubbornness will not get you anything! Tell me where did you hid that silver ball that I saw you taking back from Stark, or I will rip you apart.”

Sydney was completely exhausted and bloody from a whole night of torturing but she still managed a smirk up at Holdstein.

“Are you really this dense? You are still convinced that the silver ball is the key?” she snorted, her smirk still firmly on her face. “Weird. You are supposed to be from a further away future and should know all about our ways.”

“Don’t try to fool me, whore!” he shouted in anger. “We both know that the key could take several shapes since the ship was created. There is nothing that couldn’t make the ball the key.” Then he pulled her hair harshly again. “And if it wasn’t, then I will have to rip open your body to find the key that must be implanted inside you. And I will enjoy every moment of it.”

“She will not tell you anything so just leave her alone already.” Steve snapped anxiously.

He was chained to the wall with Tony and Dean beside him, forced to watch Sydney being tortured for the past four hours while being chained to a chair right in front of them.

“Stay out of this, handsome, or I will tie you to this chair instead. I don’t think they will appreciate what I will do to you.” Holdstein smirked then turned back to Sydney. “Right, Bitch?”

“I told you.” Sydney panted tiredly. “This ball is just a weapon made specifically for me.”

“What does it do then?” she snapped her mouth shut and didn’t answer. “I know all the weapons that was ever created. If you told me what it does I will recognize it. What is it? Tell me.”

“Just a weapon.” Sydney said firmly.

Holdstein furrowed his brows in pure anger before he slapped her with all his strength making her head snap to the side sharply. “Liar!”

Steve growled in anger while Tony shouted: “You Fucker”

“Yeah, slap a tied down woman so you can feel like a man, Bastard.” Dean growled in rage.

Holdstein ignored them and screamed at Sydney’s face: “You think you can fool me? You really think you can defeat me or stop my plan?”

“The important thing is that I stopped your insanity that led the world to its doom.” Sydney stated firmly.

“Bullshit! True, you destroyed all the machines in my hideout, but that doesn’t mean I lost everything!” then he leaned towards her and added: “I have another hideout in Berlin.”

Sydney’s eyes widened and her face paled. “Another hideout?”

“Did that surprise you?” he let out a loud laugh. “That means that your mission failed, Huntress. You failed in stopping me from sending the second message.”

“What will you get if you sent it?” Dean asked in confusion. “You will just destroy the Earth that you are trying to rule.”

“Wrong, Pea brain. That bomb will destroy the solar system because Earth wasn’t ready to face it. But now, I have all the information I need about it. I know when and where it will reach us and how strong it is. And when it came, I will be ready to face it, and I will prove to the entire universe that I am its Emperor.” He smiled viciously. “I will send it back to its planet with my compliments.”

“You are going to wipe out an entire solar system just to prove how great you are?” Tony exclaimed incredulously.

“Do you have a better way?” Holdstein just smirked mockingly.

“You crazy fucking son-“

“Don’t you dare to finish it or I will make you regret it.” Holdstein growled in warning.

Tony’s face flushed in anger as the words choked inside his throat before shouting. “Crazy son of a bitch!”

Holdstein stared at him in pure rage before he stomped towards him and grabbed his shirt harshly to rip it open, revealing the arc reactor.

“Guards!” he shouted, and immediately, two guards stormed into the small dungeon, with their machine guns held ready.

Holdstein retreated back to set on an armchair and pointed at Tony. “Remove that thing from his chest.”

“No! Don’t!” Steve screamed while Dean’s eyes widened in panic and Sydney gasped in terror.

Tony struggled with his restraints as one of the guards came closer to him with a claw like tool while the other slammed Tony against the wall firmly to keep him still.

“Leave him the hell alone or I swear I will-“ Dean shouted but Holdstein just laughed.

“Will what, Winchester? What will you do?” he mocked harshly.

“I will make you regret it. I will not rest until I make you regret the moment you thought about laying a hand on him.” Dean answered firmly with pure anger shining in his eyes that made Holdstein pause at the intensity in Dean’s voice.

“We caught it, sir.” One of the guards called out after he snapped the clawed tool to Tony’s reactor, ready to remove it, while Tony’s eyes widened in panic.

“Remove it.” He ordered sternly.

“No, no! Please, don’t!” Steve screamed and kept struggling with his restraints and felt panic and horror inside him when he failed to break free.

The guard removed the reactor in one swift, harsh move.

“No!” Sydney screamed in horror.

“No? You mean you want us to put it back?” Holdstein turned to her with a smirk.

Right in front of their horrified eyes, Tony began to breathe heavily as sweat fell down his face, his fists clinched at the chains for dear life as his eyes started to glaze over from the merciless pain he must be feeling.

“Just put it back already!” Dean shouted in terror.

“You made your point, just let them put it back now!” Steve screamed as he kept struggling.

“In exchange for what?” Holdstein smirked and looked over at Sydney.

Sydney lowered her eyes in pain. “I will lead you to the ship.” She muttered bitterly.

“Is it another trick?”

“No.”

Holdstein got up from his chair and came closer to her. “What guarantees it?”

“Kill us if it was a trick, now put the damn reactor back for God’s sake!”

 Tony’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and his face was white as a sheet while he struggled to take a breath in the middle of the pain raging inside his chest. He was dying. Fast.

“Put it back!” both Dean and Steve yelled in desperation as they saw Tony taking his last breaths.

“Put it back. But keep the claws attached just in case.” Holdstein ordered the guards with a carless wave of his hand.

The guard slammed the reactor back to its place. Tony let out a loud gasp and panted heavily as the reactor began its work.

Dean sagged in relief while Steve struggled to move his head enough to take a look at Tony’s face to calm his racing heart.

Holdstein turned back to Sydney. “Is it the silver ball?”

She nodded in defeat. “Yes, it is.”

“I knew it.” Holdstein’s eyes let up in victory. “Where is it?”

“With me.”

“Where? We searched you. Are you using a way to hide it?”

“No. it has the ability to take another shape or matter until my fingers touch it.”

“Yes, I know this ability. It could attach to anything and take its shape, is that right?”

“Yes. It will take a shape that you will never notice, and will return to its shape when my fingers touch it.” Then she stopped for a second before she continued. “Only my fingers.”

“That means we need to untie you.” Holdstein muttered with a furrowed brows.

“Yup.” Sydney agreed calmly.

Dean watched the scene with deep concentration, trying to figure out what Sydney was up to. Steve was staring at Tony in concern while the genius raised his head weakly, face still wet with cold sweat.

Holdstein just looked Sydney over suspiciously and thought for a few seconds.

“Fine.” He said eventually and turned to one of the guards. “Untie her right hand only.” Then he pointed at the other guard. “And you, point your gun on her. If she made anything suspicious shot her and the others.” He turned back to Sydney. “Does that suits you?”

“Not bad.” She stated calmly.

The first guard untied Sydney’s right hand then retreated with his partner to point their guns at them.

“Come on. Give me the ball.” Holdstein ordered.

Everyone stared at Sydney who at first just sat still for a few seconds, before she moved her free hand to touch her neck delicately.

The two guards’ eyes widened and took a step back in terror when they saw Sydney’s throat extend forward then curl into a ball and fell into Sydney’s hand to change color to silver.

“What kind of witchcraft is that?” one of them exclaimed.

“Silence! Just point your guns!” Holdstein snapped without taking his eyes off the ball. “Give it to me.”

Thousands of questions passed through Dean, Tony and Steve’s heads when Sydney looked at the ball and pressed it lightly. They thought she was preparing a trap for the General but she just handed it over to him with bitterness and pain itched to her face.

Holdstein snatched the ball and stared at it in victory. “Finally.”

“Now, set us free.” Sydney said nervously. “You got what you want. No need to keep us anymore.”

“You’re right.” Holdstein smirked down at her. “No need at all.” He turned to the guards. “Kill them all!”

      

       


	54. Chapter 54

Dean’s eyes were huge as he rubbed his now free wrests and looked around in confusion.

He was free along with his three partners. Steve was looking around in equal confusion while holding gently a wide eyed Tony who was clutching his arc reactor with shaking hands, while Sydney was staring at Holdstein who was completely frozen along with the two guards with their last reactions. The General was still smirking in victory, the silver ball in his hand.

“What the hell happened?” Dean exclaimed nervously when he failed to understand what’s going on.

“Shush, dude!” Sydney shushed frantically. “Lower your voice or you will ruin everything.”

Dean looked around nervously again. “What happened to them? And how are we free?”

“That silver ball.” Tony answered this time, his voice husky and strangled a little as his hands were still covering his reactor in fear. “Was really a weapon. Maybe Sydney’s strongest weapon.”

“What kind of weapon is that?” Dean asked gesturing towards the frozen Holdstein.

“My father called it a Time freezer bomb.” Sydney answered with a proud smile. “It was activated when I pressed it before I handed it over to the Fucker. The moment he took it and ordered his men to kill us, it started its effect.”

“It’s effect?” Dean murmured in awe.

“Yup. It froze time for everyone in an area of twenty meters square. Everyone except me, of course, since I am immune from it.”

“But we are supposed to be affected too.” Dean said in frustration.

“Yeah. But I think Sydney untied us, after she released herself with her free hand.” Steve stated while rubbing a hand comfortingly up and down Tony’s back who seemed to be leaning towards his touch, seeking his comfort.

“How are we unfrozen then?” Dean muttered, still trying to absorb all of this while ignoring the loss he feels as he watched Tony and Steve. He needed his husband’s comfort too right now.

“Any outside stimulation will lead to that.” Sydney reported. “Loud voice. Bright light. Even a prick from a needle.” She looked down at her watch. “The ship will be ready to take off in twenty two minutes. We need to head over to it before things gets even more complicated.”

“What about Holdstein and his hideout in Berlin?” Tony asked anxiously.

Dean moved to snatch a gun from one of the guards’ pockets and pointed it at Holdstein’s head. “I have a solution for that.”

“No! Don’t!” Sydney exclaimed.

But Dean already pulled the trigger and the sound of the bullet filled the dungeon.

The two guards flinched violently and looked around in shock while Holdstein’s eyes widened and took a step back.

“Fuck. It’s a time freezer bomb!” he shouted before turning and ran away as fast as he could while the guards raised their guns towards them even with how shocked and confused they were.

Steve immediately punched the one, who was about to shoot Tony, in the nose then another one to his teeth and sent him unconscious on the floor while Sydney dealt with the other to send him to the floor next to his partner.

Steve looked down at his hands in surprise and turned back to Tony with his eyes wide.

“Looks like the drug is starting to leave your blood stream.” Tony smiled weakly at him, still rattled from what happened to him earlier.

“But I shot him right in the head!” Dean exclaimed in shock. “I swear I didn’t miss!”

“What you did is giving him the perfect stimulation to snap him out before we escaped.” Sydney yelled in frustration.

“And what happened to the bullet?!”

“His defense system.” She answered as she snatched one of the guards’ machine guns. “It surrounds his body with a protective shield when he sleeps or lose consciousness in any way.

“I think we should make our escape now.” Steve stated while snatching the second gun.

They all ran out of the dungeon to make their way through the small building Holdstein took them to.

It wasn’t as guarded as the headquarters, but the ten soldiers protecting it were fighting viciously, following Holdstein’s orders who was shouting at them with all the anger he was feeling inside him: “Kill them! Don’t let them escape no matter what!”

The two teams were taking positions to exchange fire for probably forever without either of them winning.

“We need to find a way out of here!” Steve exclaimed.

“What do you suggest?” Dean asked while shooting at the Germans.

“I saw two jeeps in the backyard. We can use one of them to escape.”

“It’s not that simple.” Tony commented grimly. “With their weapons, they will crush us before the car took a few feet away.”

“Yeah, they will shoot it the moment they lay eyes on it.” Sydney added with a shake of her head.

“Exactly.” Steve smirked a little then. “That’s why I have a plan for that.”

***

“General, the shooting stopped.”

One of the soldiers exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” Holdstein furrowed his brows. “They couldn’t have given up. Unless-“

Before he finished his sentence, a jeep suddenly, broke through the entrance of the building and drove away fast.

“Fire!” Holdstein snapped loudly.

The ten soldiers shot the jeep with all they have.

The bullets pierced the car’s four tires and its walls then set fire to its rear.

While all of this happened, another jeep drove through the destroyed entrance and Dean drove it expertly away from the first car while his partners threw grenades towards the entrance.

“Nice plan, dude!” Dean praised with a grin that Steve returns it after throwing another grenade.

Pure rage exploded inside Holdstein and jumped inside the closest car to him.

“After them! Don’t let them get away!”

Three cars chased after the jeep that Dean was driving fast and expertly.

“We only have seventeen minutes then the robot guardian will come to us.” Sydney announced.

“Only seventeen minutes?” Dean snorted in frustration. “The whole world could go upside down on us in these minutes.”

“Just drive, Dean.” Tony clapped him on the shoulder with a sigh.

Dean was doing his best as he drove the car like a pro.

***

“Fuck!” Holdstein exclaimed from inside one of the cars. “They’re heading outside the city. Towards the same spot where their ship was first spotted. They’re trying to escape. They must be stopped! They can’t leave this era. The time ship must not leave!” then he grabbed the radio’s horn. “The three spies are trying to escape. Surround all the entrances and exits of Paris especially from the east!”

***

The jeep got Holdstein’s message as well.

“He is trying to trap us in.” Steve stated anxiously.

“Let him try.” Dean said firmly. “We can’t go back now.”

The chase became even more vicious in the streets of Paris in a way that was never seen before that the people hid in their homes and just watched in fear. The minutes passed by slowly that everyone thought that years had passed.

“How much time left?” Dean asked frantically.

“Thirteen minutes.”

“Fucking hell!”

They were heading towards the eastern exit directly when suddenly, a tank came right in front of them.

“Watch out!” Tony exclaimed in alarm.

Dean turned with the car sharply to drive away but another two cars came in his way and more than ten soldiers came from inside them and pointed their guns at them.

“Fuck!” Dean grabbed his gun. “I will-“

Steve gripped his wrest fast. “No, stop. If you shot them, they will wipe us out in a second.”

Another tank appeared behind them and a firm voice called out: “There is no way to escape. Surrender or we will shoot.”

Tony looked around anxiously for a way out but Steve just took his hand and held it gently.

“Looks like we have no other choice.” Steve muttered with a sigh.

“Do we surrender that easily?” Dean objected in frustration.

“The robot guardian will come for us after eleven minutes. Which means surrendering is our only way to survive.” Sydney commented while looking down.

“Fine.” Dean sighed tiredly.

Sydney looked up at him for a second before she suddenly wrapped her arms around him, startling him.

“I’m sorry.” She muttered into his chest. “To all of you. For all of this. I’m really sorry.”

Dean sighed and wrapped his arms around her gently and exchanged a sad look with Tony.

“Come on, kid. It’s going to be fine.” Dean murmured gently. “We will get out of this. I promise.”

After they handed over their weapons and surrendered to the Nazis, Holdstein’s car stopped next to them and he jumped from it with a mocking smile.

“You fell into my hands again.” His smile widened even more.

“Maybe not for long.” Sydney stated calmly.

“Are you waiting for a special kind of help?” he just laughed.

“Who knows?” Tony just shrugged.

“Oh, I know! I know all the tricks your little descendant have.” He leaned towards Sydney with smirk. “You’re waiting for your robot guardian that your daddy and granddaddy made for you, aren’t you?”

A wave of nervousness passed through their bodies while Sydney just glared at him in anger.

“I know all about your ship and its defense system. I was preparing to face it from the start.” He looked down at his watch. “With one simple press to this button in my watch, an electromagnetic field will be released from the top of the Eiffel tower to cover the whole city and will hide you from the guardian.” He said as he pressed the button.

The four of them looked at each other hopelessly.

“I guess it is over, then.” Tony murmured sadly. He felt Steve taking his hand and wind their fingers together. He looked up and saw the sad smile Steve was giving him, he then looked to his right at Dean who looked absolutely alone in this moment from the defeat that was written all over his face. Tony reached over and took his hand making Dean look up at him in surprise while Sydney took Dean’s other hand in hers.

At least Tony will die surrounded by family.

“How sweet.” Holdstein mocked with a harsh smile. “Yeah, go ahead and comfort each other before you die. That is all what you’re good at anyway. After only five minutes, the ship will appear in plain sight and I have a way to pass its defense system and make it under my command and become my ticket home when I control history here.” he let a loud laugh before waving his fist. “I will have full control on the whole world!”

“This is exactly what I wanted to talk about, General Holdstein.” A firm voice said from behind him.

“Shit, this is Himmler himself.” Steve murmured with wide eyes.

Holdstein turned around fast to face Himmler and exclaimed in surprise: “Sir! What are- I mean what honor-“

“I have concerns about you, Holdstein.” Himmler cut him off sternly. “Very dangerous concerns. Especially if what you just said was added to it.”

“This is just a misunderstanding, sir!” Holdstein waved his hand nervously. “My loyalty is completely to you and-and to the Führer and Germany and-“

Himmler gestured with his hand before he was finished and six soldiers darted forward to surround Holdstein and pointed their guns at him while another two moved behind him to chain his wrests behind his back.

“No! No, don’t do this to me!” he screamed in panic. “I know a lot! A lot that will lead Germany to victory! I will tell you about the atomic bomb! I will stop the allies when they try to invade Normandy! I will make sure you will win in the soviet fronts!”

“Don’t believe him, General.” Carl appeared suddenly from behind Himmler. “You heard yourself what he said! He is a traitor. Look at his strange watch! The type of his paper. Thing we never saw before.”

“You son of a bitch!” Holdstein screamed. “You are just try to get me you little-“

Himmler gestured to the soldiers again, so two of them hit the back of Holdstein’s head with the heel of their guns. His eyes widened before he fell unconscious at Himmler’s feet.

“Looks like Holdstein’s part is done here.” Dean said with a mocking smirk.

“His life itself is over.” Tony muttered.

“Yeah. He will be executed for treason. He is done.” Steve nodded in confirmation.

“And his danger to the future is over with him.” Sydney sighed in relief.

The soldiers were carrying the unconscious Holdstein towards a car when Carl asked Himmler while pointing at them: “And them? What do we do with them?”

Himmler looked at them coldly before waving his hand carelessly. “Kill them.”

“Fucking fuck dammit! Why everyone wants to fucking kill us in this fucking era!” Dean yelled as the guns were raised yet again at their faces.

   

  


	55. Chapter 55

Steve flinched at the sound of bullets and he closed his eyes expecting to feel the pain of them piercing through his body any second.

But instead, a familiar voice called out to him: “I’m here, punk!”

He opened his eyes with a wide grin as he saw Bucky jumping from on top of a tank after throwing a grenade inside its cannon, at the same moment, the French resistance’s men darted from all directions while shooting at the Nazis, who retreated and fired back at them as Himmler hurried to take cover behind a car while another explosion sounded.

Sydney punched the closest soldier to her and snatched his gun. “Looks like it’s not over yet, guys.”

“For the first time I actually agree with you.” Dean grinned as he attacked another soldier.

Steve pushed a shocked Tony behind him to cover him as Bucky came closer to him and handed him his shield.

“You left this behind, Punk.” Bucky grinned at him, relief written all over his face.

“Thank you for coming, Jerk.” Steve grinned back at him while taking the shield.

“We’re all here, Captain!” Alain called out as he and Brigitte jumped from another tank.

Brigitte immediately rushed towards Sydney and ignored everything as she kissed her right in the middle of the fight, much to Sydney’s delight.

Peggy also appeared after throwing another grenade inside the second tank, exploding it to bits and throwing away many soldiers.

Bucky immediately gripped Dean’s arm. “Go.”

“What?” Dean exclaimed in surprise.

“I said: Go! Get out of here! Go back to your time. We came here to help you to do so.”

“How did you know where we are?” Tony asked in confusion.

“We have our ways.” Alain answered. “Now, go! Don’t waste what we did!”

“What about you?”

“Don’t worry about us. We will exchange fire for a while then we retreat without them managing to catch us. It’s not our first time. At least now we’re doing it for our future.”

They exchanged looks before Dean looked up at Alain. “Thanks, man.” Dean smiled at him sincerely. “Goodbye.”

Alain just nodded.

“I’m going with them.” Brigitte announced firmly.

They all stared at her in surprise. “Brigitte but-“ Alain started.

“It’s my decision.” She stated sternly.

He gave her an unreadable look then sent Sydney a look full of hatred before nodding and darting towards the Nazis.

“I will go with them to make sure they reach their ship safely.” Steve announced looking over at Bucky.

“Alright. Stay hidden and I will come for you after a while.” Steve nodded then rushed to help Sydney and Brigitte to the jeep.

When Tony moved to follow, Bucky grabbed his arm stopping him.

“Tony, wait.” he called out and Tony looked back at him curiously. "I just wanted to say sorry about what I said when we were pretending to fight. I didn’t meant it. I don’t really think that Steve was caught because of you. I was out of line.”

Tony looked at him surprise not expecting that. “It’s alright. We were all stressed out, then.”

Bucky looked over at Steve who was shielding Sydney and Brigitte as they kept shooting at the Nazis.

“I want you to know that I am totally okay with your future with him.” Bucky smiled and turned to look back at Tony. “I know you will take good care of him. That you will make him happy. I have a feeling that I won’t be there to see that for myself, but you’re a good man Tony and I know he will be in good hands and won’t be alone.”

Tony felt a huge smile appear on his face as he looked gratefully at Bucky. It meant everything to him to hear that from him.

“Thanks, Barnes.” He thanked him sincerely. “And don’t worry. You will be there to see for yourself.”

“Then this isn’t goodbye.” Bucky grinned at him. “See you soon, Tony.”

“Yeah, you will.” Tony nodded with a smile.

“Come on, Tony! Get in the car!” Dean called out to him from inside the car. “See you soon, Barnes!”

“Don’t get yourself killed until then.” Bucky called back to him with a grin.

“No promises, dude.”

With one last smile to Bucky, Tony rushed to get inside the jeep with Steve, Sydney and Brigitte and Dean immediately drove away.

***

The sun shined over the fields outside of Paris and made the view look glorious that made a German soldier took a deep breath with a wide smile as he strolled between the fields with his partner.

“What a beautiful morning.” He said to his colleague. “I feel gleeful every time I stroll between these fields.”

“It is the best addition to our German Empire.” His friend agreed.

“That’s right. We-“ He was cut off when something shined suddenly between some nearby trees. “What is that?”

“I saw some kind of light.” His partner said with furrowed brows. “Come on, let’s check it out.”

They walked carefully towards the area they saw the light came from. Just after they walked a few feet, the Time ship appeared in their line of view in all its glory.

“Oh God! It’s that aircraft they talked about! I thought it was just an illusion of a drunk pilot!” The soldier exclaimed in panic.

“What should we do?” his partner asked as he stared at the ship nervously, not knowing what to do.

“We need to call all our forces! Soldiers, tanks, everyone! Hurry!” he exclaimed frantically.

His partner rushed to do just that while he turned back to the ship and pulled out his gun.

“Meanwhile, I will prevent anyone from coming close to it. No matter what.” He stated firmly.

Since the robot guardian was still out of commotion because of the electromagnetic field Holdstein released before his capture, there was no way for the ship to protect itself or its approaching passengers.

***

“We’re ready.”

Sam announced to Castiel and the team while they all were standing inside the main station from which they will broadcast the frequency to all the other stations.

Castiel glanced over to Steve, who they moved with them to a small cot inside the station. From what he managed to coax out of him, Steve will hopefully wake up any minute now to announce that their husbands had left the era and on their way to the Nil Zone, then they will immediately start the broadcast.

“Any minute now.” Castiel murmured and he could feel everyone’s anticipation.

“There is just one problem.” Jane pointed out grimly.

“What is it?” Clint asked in concern.

“The machines in this station are too old to handle such high frequency.” She answered, gesturing to the mentioned machines.

“You think it will crash?” Charlie asked worried.

“Of course.” She answered. They all tensed so Sam hurried to add.

“Not immediately.” He reassured. “The frequency is too high, but the machines will be able to handle it for a while. For almost ten minutes. Fifteen tops.”

“Then?” Natasha asked, afraid to know the answer.

“Then everything will crash.” Sam sighed.

Worry itched itself on all their faces as they thought about that.

“And what can we do with something like that?” Bucky asked in confusion.

Jane pierced her lips grimly. “Wait.”

“What?” they all asked in shock.

“Yeah. Building a new station with the needed, more advanced machines, or at least upgrading the stations we already have, will need months, which means we will have to make do with the ones we have now.”

“But it will crash!” Natasha exclaimed.

“Then we will need to be accurate about this.” Sam stated firmly. “We need to start the broadcast the moment they’re in the Nil Zone. Hopefully, it will take them less than ten minutes to notice the red hole.”

“And if they don’t.” Castiel muttered miserably. “We will need to wait months to try again.”

 

        


	56. Chapter 56

“They’re surrounding it and trying to approach it carefully.”

Sydney whispered as she and her four partners were hiding behind a group of large trees while they watched the scene nervously.

“Obviously the electromagnetic field that fucker released is still working.” Tony muttered with furrowed brows.

“It is a whole army of them. We can’t face them all.” Dean whispered in frustration. “Maybe if we waited till nightfall-“

“Who will let us wait?” Steve cut him off with pierced lips. “They saw the ship and they must have reported back to their leaders. Another hour and the whole area will be full of German soldiers that you won’t be able to step a foot in here.”

“Also they will get bolder by time.” Sydney sighed. “It will not take them long to break into the ship and cause damage to it.”

“Fuck, so there is no hope after all this to go back home?” Dean said frustrated.

“Our only hope is if the robot guardian is activated.” Sydney shook her head grimly.

“What if we called Alain and told him to send someone to destroy the device over the Eiffel Tower?” Brigitte suggested anxiously.

“The Nazis will also receive the message and will stop him before he can.” Tony sighed tiredly. “Besides, that will take at least two hours.”

“I don’t think we can wait for even half that time.” Dean announced anxiously as he pointed at a car that stopped next to the ship and jumped from it a group of military engineers carrying tools for cutting metal.

“They will tear it apart!” Brigitte said in panic.

“We can’t let them do that.” Tony muttered anxiously.

“What can we do?” Sydney murmured bitterly.

Steve suddenly straightened up and made his way towards the jeep they hid between the trees. “We will do Brigitte’s suggestion. But I will call Bucky instead.” They all stared at him in surprise. “With a slight change.”

They didn’t understand what he was talking about, so he just smiled slyly and brought the radio’s horn to his lips: “From Captain Rogers to Sergeant Barnes. I know you can hear me. We’re in grave danger. They captured our ally Holdstein, but he is still wearing the watch. Try to get it back at any cost.” Steve’s Captain America voice was slightly different because of his accent, Tony noted idly. But it was still hot as hell and doing lots of nice things to Tony’s insides.

“Oh! I get it!” Sydney murmured with a grin.

“Try to stop them from pressing that small button in the side of the watch. Try as hard as you can or we will lose everything.” Then his smirk widened as he finished the message with the sentence that will tell Barnes that this is a trick: “By the way, Misha is saying hi.”

“This is genius.” Dean said with a huge grin. “I can imagine everything! The Nazis getting that message because you sent it on their same wave, and they will think they will ruin our plan if they pressed that button.”

“Exactly.” Steve nodded, still smirking. Tony was staring at him with an overwhelming feeling of pride. God, he loved that man.

“I can almost see it!” Dean continued with a laugh. “Himmler snatching the watch from Holdstein’s wrest and the fucker would scream to try and warn him fruitlessly, then Himmler presses the button and-“

“-and the robot guardian is back online.” Sydney finished and shared a grin with Brigitte.

The same moment she said that, the golden ball started to move away from the ship and darted viciously towards the Germans surrounding the ship.

“Come on!” Dean exclaimed as the ball started its work perfectly.

The five of them ran towards the ship at the same moment the Nazis were trying to run away from it.

“We did it, guys! We did it.” Dean let out a loud laugh as he ran as fast as he could.

The Ball caught Dean’s voice and turned towards him but Sydney exclaimed excitedly: “No! They’re all with me!”

The guardian fell back and moved around the ship to protect it from all directions.

When they reached the ship, Sydney turned towards Brigitte and already felt her heart shattering.

“Brig, I-I don’t know what to say, but-“ she started brokenly but Brigitte interrupted her with a small kiss.

“You will have lots of things to say in our journey through time.” She said with a playful smile.

“Our journey?!” Sydney looked at her in confusion. “No, Brigitte, I can’t! God knows how much I want it but it’s not fair to snatch you away from your time, from your home.”

“My home is where you are, Sydney.” She murmured with a soft smile. “I found out that I can no longer live without you.”

“It won’t be easy to live in my time.” Sydney muttered sadly. “It will be too much on you.”

“Well, of course it will be.” Brigitte chuckled. “There will be lots of things I will need to learn.” Then smiled affectionately at her. “And I will count on you to teach me all of them.”

Their eyes met for a few seconds before Sydney grinned and took her hand. “Let’s go!”

They grinned at each other as they jumped inside the ship while Dean just smiled at them gently and shook his head with a soft chuckle before following them. “God, why do we always fall for crazy, blue eyed idiots?”

Tony followed them with his eyes with a small smile then turned back to Steve who was smiling at him with a close version of the smiles Steve reserved for him. He felt his heart ache. He was afraid it will be the last time he will see that beautiful face.

“I-I would go with you, but apparently I still have lots of things that must be done here.” Steve chuckled and rubbed the back of his head nervously. “But I am guessing that I will not wait long for you, right?”

Tony studied his hopeful face for a few seconds. How the hell did Steve manage to fall for him in such a short time? It was-it was exhilarating. To have such an amazing man to fall for him in any version of him. If that wasn’t a soulmates thing then he didn’t know what is.

“Yeah, Steve. Not long.” He whispered and felt something break in him as Steve’s face lightened up. He didn’t know the tragedy that will happen to him. He didn’t know that he will see his best friend die right in front of him soon. He didn’t know that he will lose everything, even his life, soon.

He can’t do this.

“Steve. Steve I-I need t-“ he started but Steve just stepped closer to him and cupped his face gently then kissed him chastely, sweetly, on the lips. It wasn’t a goodbye kiss. It was a promise. Like Steve was promising him that he won’t be late. That He will come for him.

He can’t do this. He can’t.

“Steve, please.” He let out in a strangled voice as he broke away from Steve. “Please, just-don’t get on that plane. Find another way, but please, don’t get on that plane.”

“What plane?” Steve asked in confusion.

“Y-you will understand then. You will remember these words then.” Tony answered while swallowing down a sob. He was doing this for Steve. He just wants him to be happy.

“Okay.” Steve whispered as he just looked at Tony with a soft smile before forcing himself to step back. “I will see you soon, Tony.”

“Yeah. See you soon.” Tony was doing everything in his power to keep himself from crying. He already felt cold without Steve’s touch. He turned and walked towards the door of the ship. Just before he got inside, he took one last look back at Steve, who was still standing there, watching him with a soft smile that tugged at his heart.

“Goodbye, Steve.” Tony whispered brokenly before jumping inside the ship.

 

  

  


	57. Chapter 57

Steve’s eyes snapped open back in the present.

He was confused for a few seconds before it all came back to him in full force.

Their first Christmas with the Winchesters. A mysterious woman that said she is an Avenger that came from the future to save the Earth. A ship appearing from nowhere, destroying what comes in its way. SHIELD asking for their help. Tony and Dean going inside the ship and never managed to come back out. Loneliness and despair for days. Then, pain that started from his brain and spreading through his whole body. Castiel put him to sleep then he was back there. In the forties. With Tony, Dean and Sydney. Facing a monster calling himself Holdstein. Falling for the man with blue light in his chest. Falling for his husband before he was even born by decades. How ironic.

It took him seconds to have all those memories rushing back to his brain in coordination that he suspects was Castiel’s doing. Between those memories, he heard the Angel’s voice talking to him in his brain in a quiet voice. Asking him about their husbands. Then the last thing Castiel whispered in his brain rang loudly inside his ears.

_“The moment they leave the era, you need to wake up, Steve. You need to wake up and tell us that they left. It is the only way to bring them back.”_

He sat bolt upright, freaking out half of his team by his sudden movement since they’re yet to notice that he was awake. His eyes scanned the room fast until they landed on Castiel who was immediately on his feet and staring at him in anticipation.

“They just left.” He announced with a dry voice from not talking for days.

Castiel’s eyes widened then turned to Jane and Sam.

“Start the broadcast. Fast!”

***

Immediately, Dean noticed the pale, pained look on Tony’s face when he finally entered the ship.

Sydney was helping Brigitte with the seat belt, so she didn’t notice the look of utter despair on the genius’s face as he threw himself on the seat next to Dean looking like he just lost everything.

Dean’s heart fell to his knees.

“Tony, what’ve you done?” Dean demanded and tried to keep his voice calm to not show the panic he was slowly feeling.

Tony’s eyes turned towards him, and the look in his eyes was answering enough.

“I had to do it, Dean. I had to.” He whispered brokenly. Pain and devastation filled his words heavily.

“No, you didn’t have to! This is just your fucking self-loathing clouding your judgment and blinding you.” Dean hissed in suppressed anger. “What you did might feel selfless but in fact it was selfish. You thought by making yourself miserable it will make everyone living along happy with their lives. But in fact, all you have done is telling the love of your fucking life to avoid his fate. Now, he might spend his entire life waiting for the moment where he will finally meet you again in excitement, only to be disappointed and broken hearted when he is an old man, who wasted his life looking for the love of his life, only to see the man he was waiting for in TV or something, young and had no clue who the fuck he is.” Tony’s eyes widened in horror, obviously he didn’t think about any of that when he warned Steve. Only thinking about the whole thing from his point of view alone. “And in addition to all of that? We might go back to our time to find everything went to shit because of you screwing with time. We might never find our home again. Or the moment we step out of the ship, Sydney will vanish in thin air right in front of her lover who just threw her life away to be with her! The world doesn’t revolve around you, if you haven’t noticed! Everything you do, affects who are around you!” Dean knew he was being harsh, but he was just so mad and frustrated then. Literally, everything could go to hell just because Tony thought his husband would be happier without him!

Tony looked down at his lap where his shaking hands rested.

“I-I didn’t think-I-I just wanted him to be happy! I-I didn’t mean for all of this!” Tony stuttered as he looked at Dean frantically, managing to break Dean’s heart from the desperation on his face. “Dean, I-I didn’t-I am sorry I-“

“When are you going to finally see that Steve’s is actually happy with you?! You not seeing it, might have just ruined everything!”

Before Dean could continue his rant, Sydney interrupted him by starting the ship.

“Buckle up, guys! We’re leaving this age of blood!” she announced in determination. “Be warned, we don’t know where the next journey will take us.”

“It won’t be worse than this.” Dean muttered with a sigh.

Two German aircrafts appeared in the horizon, so Sydney immediately flew the ship right to space.

“Here we go, then.”

***

The sun rises and sets a thousand times in a few seconds as the ship dived into a storm of colors and they all felt pressure on their necks and chests that made Brigitte almost scream.

Then, suddenly, everything was over.

The ship reached the Nil Zone, and was floating in the endless nothingness surrounding it with its black holes staring mockingly at them.

A heavy silence fell on them as they trailed their eyes over the holes in front of them.

Each one was lost in their own dark thoughts. With darker questions that loomed in their heads.

When will the next hole will take them?

The ice age? The middle ages? Ancient Egypt?

Will they ever find their way back home?

Does home still even exists? 

“So, left or right?” Sydney interrupted the silence grimly.

“Well, I still prefers straight lines.” Tony muttered while pointing at the hole right in front of them.

“Holy shit! Do you guys see that too?” Dean suddenly exclaimed while pointing at something.

They all turned towards what he was pointing at and their eyes widened.

“It is a red hole!” Brigitte exclaimed awed.

“Not only that! It emits a very special frequency that is different from the others!” Sydney announced frantically.

Dean and Tony’s eyes widened in understanding at the same moment and looked at each other.

“The team!” they exclaimed together excitedly with huge relived grins on their faces.

“Go towards that hole!” Dean said urgently turning towards Sydney.

“Do you think it is a sign?” Sydney asked hopefully as she darted towards the red hole.

“We have nothing to lose.” Tony shrugged looking anxious.

The hole was far away, but its red color made it obvious between the hundreds of holes surrounding it.

Sydney darted towards it as fast as the ship could go.

Then suddenly, the red color disappeared and the hole returned back to its black color.

“No! What happened?” Dean exclaimed nervously.

Tony and Sydney stared anxiously at the hundreds of holes in front of them that looked exactly the same.

The painful truth fell on them like lightening.

Without the red color, it’s impossible to find the hole again to return back home.

  

 

 

 


	58. Chapter 58

Castiel’s eyes widened in pure panic as he stared at Sam and Jane.

“No! No, you can’t be saying we just lost the only way we have to bring them back!” he practically yelled, unable to keep his distress in any longer. “You said that it will last for ten minutes and maybe fifteen! It barely lasted for five minutes! That wasn’t enough!”

He and Natasha were the only ones in the room with Sam and Jane, the others are still in the other room, unaware that the machines just crashed too soon.

“The frequency was too high.” Jane explained miserably. “There was nothing we could do. The old machines couldn’t handle it and crashed way too soon than we expected.”

Castiel’s knees suddenly felt too weak and he collapsed on the closest chair to him as he felt his world falling apart around him.

Sam was just staring at the ground. His face frozen like he still couldn’t believe that he failed his brother.

“Why don’t we get more advanced machines?” Natasha asked desperately.

“This will need at least three months.” Jane answered, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

“Three whole months!” Natasha repeated in panic.

“Three months won’t matter in this! Time doesn’t really matter to them right now! We can get back to work so we will be prepared the next time!”

“Three months.” Castiel repeated miserably. “We will leave them facing dangers for three months? Who knows what could happen in all that time.”

“Who knows? Maybe it will be only a day for them!”

“It won’t be a day for us!” Castiel snapped anxiously.

“I know but we-“

“This is Dean Winchester, can anyone hear me?”

The message suddenly sounded in the comms, making everyone freeze and silence fell on them as they stared at each other with wide eyes.

“From Dean to the team, is anyone there?”

Sam and Castiel’s eyes met and they stared at each other, too afraid to move or even breathe. Still not believing what they were hearing.

“Guys, come on, you are scaring me here.” Dean’s voice became more anxious.

That positively broke them out of their shock.

“Dean!” Castiel exclaimed in joy as he felt an overwhelming wave of relief rushing through. “Dean, you-you’re back!”

Natasha collapsed on a chair and held her head between her hands. “Thank god. Thank god.” She kept repeating under her breath in pure relief.

“God, it is so good to hear your voice babe.” Dean let out a relived, affectionate laugh. “Apparently, Syd here is a genius. She managed to track the hole that was sending us the signal and darted towards it expertly.”

“Where are you? Dean, where are you now?” Sam asked frantically, needing to see his brother with his own eyes.

“I’m here, Sammy. I’m here.” just then, the radar caught the ship entering the Earth and tracked down its landing location.

***

Tony was the last one to get out of the ship. He watched with a small smile as Dean stared up at the sky anxiously with a huge grin on his face as he waited for their team to come to them while Sydney and Brigitte were laughing in affectionate amusement at the boyish glee on his face.

Tony wished he could feel the same joy as Dean, but worry was clawing at his heart it was making it impossible to even hope.

To hope that Steve was still here too. But the fact that he didn’t even hear his voice when Dean made the call was giving him a sinking feeling in his stomach.  

He was scared that he might just have ruined his own life and Steve’s like Dean said.

“Tony! Your ring!” Dean exclaimed suddenly while looking at him with a huge smile. Tony snapped out of his thoughts and looked up at him in confusion. “Your wedding ring, you idiot! It is still there!”

Tony’s eyes widened as he stared down at his hand, where the wedding ring Steve had given him was definitely still there. How didn’t he notice before? Maybe because he just got really used to the feeling of it in his finger.

But then when he noticed the ring’s existence, he felt another thing.

A heartbeat.

Not his own. It was another’s. A heartbeat that helped him sleep so many times after intense nightmares. His lover’s heartbeat.

Steve’s heartbeat.

His eyes widened and before he could really think about the discovery, Sydney suddenly pointed at the sky.

“They’re here.” she announced with a grin as Brigitte stared with wide eyes at the approaching Quinjet.

***

The Quinjet landed gracefully a few meters away from them.

Dean stared at it with his heart beating loudly in his chest and waited impatiently for the doors to open.

The moment the doors opened, he was barely surprised to see that Castiel was the very first one to jump from it followed closely behind by Sam, then they raced towards him with huge eager smiles on their faces.

Dean’s face splits open in a huge smile as he rushed to meet them half way and opened his arms wide when they reached him.

Sam and Cas practically threw themselves in his arms at the same time. Sam burying his face in his brother’s shoulder and cried into it, while Castiel hid his face in Dean’s neck and the hunter could feel his smile being pressed to his neck. They both clinged to him like they were afraid that he will disappear any second.

Dean just smiled happily and pulled them closer and pressed his face to Cas’ neck and kissed everywhere he could reach, letting his own tears of joy slide down his face.

“You’re here. You’re back.” Castiel whispered wetly into his neck and Dean’s heart ached at the sound of his voice. God, he missed that voice so much. The voice he thought he will never be able to hear again.

“I’m here, Babe. I am back and not going anywhere.” He pulled Castiel’s face away gently and kissed him with all the longing he was feeling for the past days for the beautiful angel in his arms. Kissing him felt like coming home as he felt their bond practically singing in relief at their closeness again. That amazing tingling he felt through his whole body every time they touched was back full force and was exactly what Dean needed. The feeling of loneliness he felt just disappeared into thin air only by the angel’s touch.

“Gross, Dean. I’m still in the same hug.” Sam muttered in his shoulder but Dean could feel the smile he was hiding there.

“Oh, you’re still here? I definitely didn’t notice that huge Sasquatch bear hugging me.” Dean teased while ruffling Sam’s hair affectionately. Sam’s just grunted and tightened his hold on Dean.

“I missed you, Dean.” Sam murmured into his shoulder and Dean’s smile softened.

“Missed you too, Bitch.” He whispered and pulled his husband and brother closer again, clinging to them as tight as he could.

The moment was brutally shattered as suddenly someone broke into their hug and pushed both Sam and Cas away who stumbled back with wide shocked eyes while Dean was attacked into a rather violent hug by an excited redhead.

Dean looked down, expecting to see Charlie, only to be shocked by the fact that he was being violently bear hugged by none other than Natasha Romanov.

He felt a grin taking a place on his face and was about to tease her but she cut him off.

“Don’t you fucking dare to say anything, just shut up and hug back, Asshole.” She muttered dangerously and her hold tightened.

Dean’s grin turned soft as he looked up at Cas and Sam from over Natasha’s head.

Sam just shrugged with a chuckle while Castiel smiled warmly at him.

Dean wrapped his arms around Natasha just as tightly. “I knew I will grow on you.”

“I said shut up!”

Dean laughed at the same moment the rest of the team finally reached them.

***

Tony watched as Castiel and Sam raced to Dean in happiness.

He couldn’t help but smile at the look of pure joy written on dean’s face as he embraced the two most important people in his life tightly. Dean had a constant look of pain and loss on his face for the past days and it was great to see such joy and happiness brought back to his face.

Then, Tony’s smile froze on his face as his eyes landed on the third person jumping from the Quinjet, who probably was planning to jump first but looked a little tired so that was probably what slowed him down.

Tony froze completely. Too afraid to even breathe in case it turned out a dream or something, since he couldn’t really let himself hope that what he was seeing was real.

Because running towards him right now, was none other than Steve Rogers with a huge grin on his face and certainly not a ninety year old man.

His husband was still here. He couldn’t believe it.

Steve finally reached him and Tony found himself with an armful of excited Super soldier who hugged him as tightly as he could without breaking Tony into two halves.

Tony was still frozen in place while Steve nuzzled into his neck and Tony could feel his smile pressed against his skin.

“Hey, Tony.” Steve murmured against his neck and Tony finally melted into him and sagged in pure relief and joy in his husband’s arms and wrapped around him tightly.

“Steve. You-you’re here.” he breathed in awe, still trying to believe it. “You’re actually here! Still here! Still mine.”

“Well of course I’m here. Where else should I be?” Steve answered with a chuckle and Tony heard the teasing tone in his voice.

“You got on the plane anyway, didn’t you?” Tony murmured while pressing his face to his husband’s chest.

“Believe it or not, I could literally sense your self-loathing even back then.” Steve chuckled as he pulled back a little to look at Tony’s face. “So, when you warned me about a plane, I figured it was something related to how we will meet. Then, when I finally understood what plane you were talking about and understood that it will somehow take me to you, I totally ignored your warning and got on it anyway.”

“You mean you chose to come for me?” Tony stared at him with wide, disbelieving eyes.

“Yes, Tony. I chose the way that will take me to you.” Steve’s grin softened to a sweet smile as he cupped Tony’s face gently. “And I didn’t regret it.”

“My God, you are an idiot.” Tony let out a sound that was both a chuckle and a sob as he stared up at his husband in joy and relief.

“I’m your idiot, Sweetheart.” Steve murmured softly before pressing his lips to Tony’s, and the genius felt complete and at home again when the familiar electricity of their touch filled his body again.

What was he thinking when he thought he could let go of this? Let go of this beautiful man who kept choosing him over and over again?

 They pulled apart and were standing there, just grinning at each other in joy, when suddenly Steve got pulled from behind and Tony found himself being squished between Rhodey and Clint who were arguing on who should hug him first.

“I jumped from the jet first!”

“I’m his best friend!”

“I don’t c-“

They were interrupted by Thor pushing both of them away to grab Tony into a bone crushing hug and raised him from the ground while he struggled to breathe.

“Anthony! Welcome back, my friend! Your absence brought sadness to all our hearts!” Thor thundered jovially into Tony’s ears, making him temporarily deaf.

“Thanks, Thor. Missed you too, big guy!” Tony answered loudly since his ears weren’t working anymore and struggled to take a breath.

His eyes caught Steve’s, who watched him with a fond, beautiful smile and his heart started to beat fast in his chest from that smile alone.

He was home. _They_ were finally home.

 

          


	59. Chapter 59

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait, the chapter got longer than I expected :D Enjoy the last chapter!

After Dean got hugged by literally everyone, almost died of suffocation when Thor hugged him and then being smashed by a brutal hug from an overexcited Steve, he finally was able to take Cas in his arms again, while everyone surrounded him and Tony in a tight circle, showering them with endless questions.

That’s when Dean’s eyes caught Bucky standing a few feet away, shuffling on his feet uncertainly while tugging self-consciously on his sleeve that was covering his metal arm.

Steve caught Dean’s look and looked over at his friend with a warm smile then gestured for him to come closer.

Bucky walked over to them while looking at them carefully. When he was finally in arms reach, Dean grinned then crashed him in a bear hug and startling the poor guy, feeling satisfied that he was the one doing the bear hugging this time.

“Told you I will see you soon, man.” Dean said with a smile as he pulled away from him.

Bucky blinked at him for a second before smiling a little. “I kinda doubt it a few times after that, but I should have believed you more I guess.” He muttered, still smiling.

Dean was about to laugh but suddenly felt himself and Tony being pulled in the middle of a huge group hug because Thor got excited again and crashed them all in one hug.

“Fucking hell! Someone’s elbow is in my spleen!” Tony groaned as he struggled to get out but Steve just laughed and pushed him in the hug even more.

“Cas, babe? Please, tell me you are the one pressed to my crotch.”

“Actually, Dean, I am the one plastered to your back.”

“Nat! Your hair is in my mouth!”

“Well, I am trapped under someone’s armpit! So I can’t exactly move away!”

Dean just grinned as they all whined and writhed in a huge mess of bodies but no one actually tried to pull away from the hug. He missed this so damn much. It might have been only three days but it felt like years.

But he was back now. Back with his utterly dysfunctional crazy family who probably didn’t sleep or rest until they figured out the way to lead them back.

Most importantly, he was back to his husband, who was currently trying to avoid his head being smashed between Sam and Thor.

He couldn’t be happier in this exact moment.

***

Sydney was watching the reunion with a soft, sad smile.

Her family was right in front of her, but they were still too far out of her reach.

Only two of them knows that she was family too, the rest probably still had no idea who she was.

Admittedly, she too wished for family comfort after all she went through. She needed the feel of home again. She had been away for far too long and she was glad she didn’t breakdown in all this time. She was still young after all. She wasn’t ready to be away from her family and suspected that she will never be. Even after all those years of separation, she still feels lost without them.

Brigitte seemed to feel her sadness from the way she held her hand gently in hers and smiled sweetly at her. Sydney smiled back, at least she wasn’t alone anymore.

She was genuinely surprised to see Castiel’s eyes meeting hers from afar. His eyes met Steve’s then they disentangled themselves from their family and walked over towards her.

She saw Brigitte’s eyes widening in awe as she stared at Castiel who approached her first with a small smile.

“Hello, Brigitte.” He greeted warmly.

“Castiel.” she greeted, still in awe. “I can’t believe I met you again.”

He glanced between her and Sydney then back at their joined hands. His smile widened. “I am glad to be able to see you again. It seemed like you managed to find happiness of your own.”

“Yes, I-“ her face colored as she glanced at Sydney with a small shy smile. “I could say the same thing about you.”

Castiel chuckled before resting his eyes on Sydney just when Steve reached them and was greeting Brigitte.

“You know, you could have just told us.” He started with a kind smile. “It’d have made things much easier and less complicated.”

Sydney looked at him in confusion for a second before her eyes widened in understanding. “You-you know?”

“We all know.” Steve answered, smiling.

She glanced carefully at the both of them and she was surprised to find pride in their eyes.

“It was a little hard to take it in at first.” Steve chuckled a little. “I didn’t think I will ever be able to have a family with Tony, and I was okay with it. But here you are and I can’t say I am disappointed.”

“Wait, really?” she couldn’t help but ask.

“Of course.” Castiel was the one to respond, smiling proudly at her. “If you are our future, then we must have done something right.”

She felt warmth spread through her at their words. They were proud of her. They were proud of her decades before she was born. She can’t believe what’s happening.

Steve placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and smiled kindly at her.

“I am sure our future selves will have the same feeling, but we are already proud of the woman you became. A beautiful, strong and loyal leader. You took the best and worse from us and we couldn’t be prouder.” Castiel nodded along with his own smile on his face.

She felt a grin plastering itself on her face. She didn’t smile that hard in seven years. She really did need her family all along.

At that moment, she didn’t feel lost and alone anymore.

She was almost home.

***

The moment they returned to the tower, Dean and Cas rushed to their suite like their lives depended on it.

When the door closed behind them, they just stood there, staring at each other in awe. They both were still not sure if they were dreaming or not.

Castiel took a careful step towards him, then reached out to place his hand gently over his hand print on Dean’s shoulder. Dean took a shuddering breath as he felt his entire being sing at Castiel’s touch and raised his own hand to place it over his own hand print on Castiel’s shoulder that he left there when they bonded.

They rested their foreheads against each other as they breathed deeply and shakily while their bond was singing inside the both of them. From the warmth and calmness that spread through him from this single touch, Dean was finally complete and the hollowness inside him was gone.

“Cas.” he whispered reverently against his husband’s lips, saying his name like a prayer. “Cas, I-I need you. I need to feel you. Against me. Around me. In me. In any way possible. I just need you like I need to breathe.”

“Then have me.” Castiel murmured softly, his lips brushing Dean’s. “In any way you want. I am not going anywhere as long as you don’t leave.”

“I won’t leave. Ever.” Dean whispered before cupping Castiel’s face gently and kissed him with all the longing and love he was feeling right then. Telling him through this kiss how much he felt lost and alone without him. How many times he faced death in the past three days and thought he will not be able to see those beautiful eyes again and hear that warm voice saying his name like it was something precious. Like Dean was the most precious, valuable thing he laid eyes on. Dean might have at first, wasn’t sure how to handle such love being directed at him, but he realized that he couldn’t live without it anymore.

He wasn’t sure how, but suddenly they were undressing each other and soon they were naked. Dean gently pushed Castiel towards the bed and paused when he saw the angel sway and stumble a little before landing on the bed with Dean on top of him.

He pushed himself up on his elbows, so he could look down at his husband’s flushed face with a raised eyebrow while looking him over in concern.

“You haven’t been eating or sleeping, have you?” he wasn’t really asking since he already knew the answer and it made his heart break a little. He was perfectly aware of how hopeless Cas was at remembering such things and his tendency of ignoring those needs if there was something more important at hand. He was too stubborn to acknowledge how much it weakens him when he do that.

Castiel looked away from his eyes and sighed tiredly. “I tried. I tried to eat, but the food just wasn’t the same when it is not made by you. And I’d rather die from exhaustion than sleeping on an empty bed without you there.”

“Dammit, Cas.” Dean sighed but leaned down again to kiss the sappy Angel on the lips again while his hands trailed over the body he knew so well and never got tired of touching it.

While their tongues fought, he started to grind gently against his lover. He grabbed the lube from under the pillow and coated his fingers before trailing them around Castiel’s entrance then entered two fingers at once.

Castiel let out a small gasp against his lips and pushed his fingers through Dean’s hair to bring him closer.

“Your hair is longer.” Castiel murmured from between their kisses as Dean started to scissor him open. “I have been telling you this since Christmas maybe.”

“Maybe I like it when you hold onto it like that.” Dean smiled against his lips. “You won’t be able to do it anymore if I shortened it.”

 “Next thing I will know is you parading around in a Sam like haircut and I am not sure how I feel about that.”

“Oh please, you will love me even if I shaved it all completely.”

“Good point.” Castiel smiled warmly up at him with a fond look in his eyes. Dean couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss that smile while adding a third finger.

After a few more minutes of scissoring and kissing, Dean was finally satisfied that Cas was stretched enough and withdrew his fingers carefully.

Castiel watched him from under his lashes while he coated himself with lube, then positioned himself and slowly entered his husband.

The angel wrapped his arms and legs around him and pulled him flush against his body. Dean hid his face into Castiel’s neck, kissing it everywhere until he was all the way in.

“Move.” Castiel whispered as he kissed everywhere he could reach from Dean’s skin.  Dean complied and soon he was moving with a steady rhythm that was gaining speed by every passing second.

Their eyes met and they failed to look away. He failed to move his eyes away from the face he thought he won’t be able to see again. Before all of this, he wasn’t fully aware of how much he needed this beautiful angel. How much he needed him constantly at all times. To be always beside him, in his line of sight or at least to feel his reassuring presence inside him.

They both reached their climax together with a small cry of their names and Dean collapsed on top of Cas, who tightened his arms around him. They both tended to be quiet in bed, neither one of them was a screamer or anything.

They laid like that for what felt like hours, just listening to each other’s heartbeats and reveling in the warmth of their embrace.

“I don’t know how to be a parent.” Castiel suddenly whispered, breaking the quiet. Dean furrowed his brows in confusion for a second or two, before everything came back to him.

They will be parents someday. Well, shit.

“It never crossed my mind.” Castiel continued as he played distractedly with Dean’s hair. “Being a father. To have a child of my own. To raise them and be their everything. I-I don’t know if I will be even good at that.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. You are good at everything you try.” Dean scoffed and looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. “I am the one terrified of that thought. Too afraid of becoming my dad.”

“You will be an amazing father one day, Dean.” Castiel smiled warmly at him. “I guess we will help each other through it. Be each other’s anchor if we will ever make it work.”

Dean looked up at him again and smiled. “From what I have seen in Sydney, I can tell that we will do a decent job, Cas.”

Castiel smiled back at him with his special Only-for-Dean smile and the hunter got dizzy from how much he missed it.

“Yes, Dean.” Castiel murmured and kissed Dean’s forehead gently. “We will.”

***

Steve and Tony were laying in bed, on their sides, staring at each other.

They were naked and were still trying to catch their breath after their enthusiastic Thank-God-you’re-here love making. Steve already was starting to feel the familiar soreness in his ass he missed so much. He needed to feel Tony inside him. He was still disoriented and a little lost since he woke up. Memories a jumbled mess inside his head, as the new memories takes place inside his mind. He needed to feel that he was actually here. And he knew Tony needed the confirmation too.

Tony raised his hand and was trailing it along Steve’s face gently, like he was afraid Steve will disappear or crumble to pieces. Steve smiled at him in reassurance and Tony smiled back and scooted closer to kiss his lips sweetly and Steve melted against him and thought that he would like to stay like this forever.

There was just one question nagging at his brain and he pulled away to look at Tony’s face.

“Why did you tell me to not get on the plane?” he asked suddenly, Tony tensed and Steve felt his heart fall a little. “Don’t you-You didn’t want me to be here? With you?” he asked in a smaller voice as he looked uncertainly at his husband. What if Tony told him that so he won’t end up with him? Maybe he was fed up with him already. He wouldn’t blame him really. Tony had been patient with him and his inability to adjust as fast as he would like and his insane fear of the cold.

“What? No! Are you crazy? Of course I want you here with me!” Tony stared at him like he was crazy.

“Then why did you tell me that?” Steve murmured while looking away from Tony’s eyes.

“Because I thought you would be happier.” Tony sighed and moved closer to press small kisses to Steve’s chest. “I thought-The ice took everything from you, Honey. You are struggling and at the same time, dealing with my own issues and attacks. When I saw you back then, you were brighter. Your smile was-easier. Much lighter with no grief lurking in the corners. I wanted you to always be like that. And I thought if you continue your life there, you would have been happier than you are here.”

“Didn’t it ever occur to you that I am actually happy here? With you?” Steve asked with a raised eyebrow. “Sure, I might have been happy enough back then, but you know that I wasn’t really straight back then and I’d have to hide that part forever. I’d have been content enough with Peggy, but-“ he cupped Tony’s face so he could make him look into his eyes. “I know for a fact that I am much happier here in your arms. I am struggling but I will be okay as long as you are here by my side. I love my family here. They’re what I always dreamed about. I won’t ever want all that to go away. And you never forced me or made me do anything. I was the one to ask you out on our first date, the one who brought you to bed the first time and I was the one who proposed. These were all my decisions.” He leaned forward and kissed Tony’s lips gently. “I love you, Tony. You are everything I needed and wanted. I waited for you before I even met you.”

Tony melted in his arms and kissed him again and again until they were both breathless and Steve already felt his arousal rising again.

“What changed in your life after I left back then?” Tony asked curiously as he moved Steve to his back then got on top to straddle him.

“I’m not sure what changed since I don’t know what happened the first time anymore. I just went back to my fight against Red Skull and Hydra, all the while thinking about the beautiful man with the blue light in his chest.” Steve smiled and placed a careful hand over Tony’s reactor. Tony smiled down at him and placed his hands over Steve’s. “Then Bucky’s fall, the plane and the ice. I remember then, when I thought I was going to die, that maybe I made the wrong choice and got myself killed before I could see you again, but here I am. The moment they told me I was seventy years away, everything you told me started to make sense. So, I just waited for the day where I finally see you.”

“Wait, so our first meeting is no longer terrible?”

“Well, you were an asshole. Does that answer your question?”

“Fuck. So, nothing much changed I guess.” Tony sighed and leaned down to nip at Steve’s neck.

“There is one thing that changed.” Steve smiled slyly and leaned in to whisper in Tony’s ear. “You are my first kiss now.”

Tony pulled back to look at him with wide eyes then a wide grin appeared on his face.

“Best change ever.” He laughed before pressing his lips to Steve’s again enthusiastically. While he was pushing his tongue inside his mouth, Steve felt him grabbing the discarded lube.

Tony kissed down his body while opening himself up. Steve just watched him intently, warmth and electricity spreading through him from everywhere Tony touched. It was always like that. From the day they met back in the forties then in the present, Tony’s touch managed to send delicious electricity through his whole body. He lives for those touches. Crave them. Needs them like he needs air.

He gasped when Tony took him in his mouth and sucked a few times till he was fully hard.

When Tony though he was stretched enough, he pulled off his cock and straddled him again, placing his hands on Steve’s chest then started to impale himself on his cock.

Steve gripped Tony’s hips tightly as he took a few calming breaths while Tony slid down slowly.

When he was fully in, Tony threw his head back and let out a loud moan.

Tony tended to be loud in bed. He sometimes manages to wrangle some loud sounds from Steve when he was in the mood. But usually, it was Tony’s screams that could be heard probably in the whole tower.

Tony started to move and Steve’s grip on his hips tightened. He moved one hand to cover Tony’s reactor and he heard him take a sharp, shaking breath before placing his own hand over Steve’s.

Steve knew that one of Tony’s biggest fears is the arc reactor. The thought of someone touching it or even see it, could make him go on full panic attack. In the beginning of their relationship, Tony insisted to wear a shirt even during sex. It took him months until he was comfortable enough to let Steve see it and touch it. There are approximately four people in Tony’s life that he allowed them that. Recently, Dean was added to that small list when Tony’s suite crashed down in a mission and the reactor stopped in the process and Dean was the one who pulled Tony out of the suite and made the reactor work again. Since then, Tony trusted him enough to add him on the small list.

The Holdstein thing is still fresh to Tony. He was literally there just a few hours ago. His arc reactor got ripped out of his chest just a few hours ago. No wonder Tony was still shaky and nervous.

As Tony started to ride him faster, Steve pulled himself up a little so he could kiss around Tony’s reactor gently, the genius took a shaky breath but placed a hand on the back of Steve’s head to pull him closer.

A few minutes later Tony threw his head back and screamed his name as he came, Steve followed soon behind him, moaning against Tony’s chest.

They collapsed on the bed in a jumbled mess of limbs. They were both panting hard and wrapped in each other’s arms.

Steve was confused to hear Tony chuckle against his chest a few minutes later.

“What are you laughing about?” Steve asked in confusion.

“Oh, nothing. I just remembered that I will be in-laws with Dean and my brain couldn’t handle the information.” He chuckled while shaking his head a little.

Steve stopped as he remembered what Castiel told him about Sydney when he woke up. He didn’t have time to process that information carefully.

“We are going to be parents.” He murmured in awe as he stared at the ceiling with wide eyes. “Oh God, Tony. We will actually be parents!”

Tony moved so he could look up at him and gave him a small smile.

“Yeah, honey. We will be.” Tony whispered softly. “Apparently, we will have an incredibly smart boy, but not smart enough if he is going to fall for the future Winchester kid.”

“You don’t mean that.” Steve grinned at him. “You and Dean will totally be cheering them on in the background.”

“That is because I will be the cool dad.”

“You will be the perfect dad.” Steve murmured placing a kiss to Tony’s hair. “The best dad that ever existed.”

“You will be better.”

“We will both be. Someday.”

“Yeah.” Tony murmured against his neck, placing a small kiss there. “Someday.”

***

Sydney entered Fury’s office, who asked for her presence, to find him waiting with Agents Coulson and Hill.

She stopped in front of them in a military pose and faced them with determination and respect.

“Agent Sydney Stark-Rogers, sir.” It felt nice to be able to say that again. She nodded at them then faced Fury. “You asked for my presence?”

Fury stood up with a small smile and the two agents followed his lead.

“We just wanted to apologize.” Fury started and seemed to be struggling with his words since he wasn’t used to apologize to anyone. “For all the troubles that we caused for you and getting in the way of your mission.”

“It’s alright, sir. I should be the one to apologize for the damage my ship had caused. It was never my intention.”

“Well, the ship is a Tony Stark creation, I am pretty sure it is programmed to make grand entrances.” Maria chuckled.

“He didn’t really change that much.” She smiled a little. “The only difference is the gray hair really.”

They chuckled then Coulson stepped closer to her and raised his hand so he could shake hers.

“I have known you for years, Agent. I just wanted to say how honored I am that I got to know you and work with you.” he said warmly with a small smile.

“Thanks, Coulson. I am glad I got the chance to meet you.” she smiled back.

“You are going back to your time today?” Fury asked curiously.

“Yes. It was impossible until what the team discovered. Dr. Foster and Sam are preparing the maps while we are speaking. I will be able to go home easily enough.”

“Are you going to take the French girl, Brigitte, with you?” Hill asked.

“Yup.” Sydney smile happily at that.

“And the second time traveler?” Fury looked at her in interest.

“Of course.”

“Who is he?”

Sydney was quiet for a second before smiling: “Why don’t you come to see me off and you will see for yourself?”

***

The whole team stood before Sydney who was standing with Brigitte in front of the ship, ready to leave.

“Well, I guess this is it.” Tony sighed as he looked at Sydney sadly. “I hate to admit it, but I think I will miss you, kid.”

“Ooh, you actually care.” She grinned at him cheekily. “This is so sweet.”

Tony just rolled his eyes then paused before surprising everyone by taking Sydney in his arms in a hug. Sydney was surprised but hugged back with a small smile.

“Take care of yourself, kid. And of her.” he murmured gesturing towards Brigitte who was watching them with a warm smile. “Future me will be so fucking proud of you, I tell you that.”

“I know.” she whispered and smiled at him when he pulled away.

Her eyes then met Dean’s who was staring at her with sad eyes. She held her breath as he just looked at her silently. Since the moment she was born, she always seeked Dean’s approval. Out of her four grandparents, Dean’s approval always managed to make her feel much larger than she was. Getting younger Dean’s approval will probably make her entire life.

Dean stepped closer to her and gave her a small sad smile.

“You turned out to be great, kiddo.” He murmured with clear pride in his eyes. “Seeing you made me feel that I finally did something good in my life.”

She grinned at him happily and wrapped her arms tightly around him. He chuckled and hugged her back gently.

“I am going to miss you, kiddo. Even if you were a pain in my ass since the moment I saw you.” Dean murmured in her hair.

“You see all of us as pain in your ass.” She whispered with a smirk.

“Yeah, that’s true.” Dean chuckled and pulled away after ruffling her hair affectionately.

She moved to hug Steve happily next who took her in his arms affectionately.

“Thanks for not telling me back then that you are my grandkid.” He chuckled after pulling away. “My brain would have melted from all the information I have been told then.”

“Yeah, I almost slipped a few times. Sorry.” She winced with an apologetic smile.

“Well, of course you are. You have Tony Stark’s genes. I am surprised that you actually could keep a secret.”

“Hey!” Tony objected making everyone laugh while Steve just wrapped an arm around him as he laughed.

She turned then to Castiel who was smiling at her softly. She felt herself smiling too from the familiarity of it. He wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug that she happily returned.

“Still not sure how you existed, but glad that you are.” He patted he shoulder before pulling away.

“You will find out soon enough.” She grinned at him sweetly.

She was pleasantly surprised to find the whole team hugging her affectionately, Thor lifting her off her feet in a bear hug, Natasha gave her a lingering hug and a smile, Clint hugged her tightly actually sad she was leaving since they knew each other for a few years, Bruce patted her awkwardly at first so she just rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around him happily, Sam hugged her affectionately and tightly making her feel relaxed at its familiarity, then Charlie came up to her and hugged her excitedly.

“Oh my God, I still can’t believe that you are actually a Destony child!” Charlie exclaimed enthusiastically.

“A Desto-what now?” Dean asked with a raised eyebrow as everyone looked at her in confusion.

“A combination of the names Stony and Destiel, duh! Because she is a combination of the four of you and all that.” Charlie explained looking at them like they were idiots.

“You combined our names in a coupley way?” Tony grimaced at her.

“Oh, not me! This what the world is calling both your ships.”

“Ships?” Steve blinked at her. “This is the most confusing conversation I ever had.”

“You get used to it.” Castiel sighed tiredly.

“I don’t think ‘Destony’ will catch on.” Natasha shrugged at her.

“Uhm, actually, that’s my middle name.” Sydney said while rubbing the back of her neck nervously.

“Wait, seriously?” Dean and Tony exclaimed in horror.

“Future Charlie kept nagging my parents to do it and they relented,” Sydney shrugged with an awkward smile.

“Fuck yeah! I am still cool in the future!” Charlie laughed loudly and smiled smugly at them.

“Why didn’t they named you Stoniel, or something? At least it could work as a girl’s name.” Clint asked with a roll of his eyes.

“Yeah, that’s my little brother’s middle name.” Sydney winced.

They all paused and stared at her like she was crazy.

“Great, our future kids are idiots and couldn’t even choose a name properly.” Tony sighed and shook his head.

“You have a freaking time ship. If I were you, I’d kill Charlie now so that monstrosity won’t happen.” Dean commented and ignore Charlie’s indignant yell and Castiel’s elbow hitting his ribs.

“The name kinda grew on me.” Sydney shrugged with a grin.

Before anyone can say something else, Fury appeared and made his way towards them.

“Well, I am here. Where’s your partner?” he greeted and raised an eyebrow at Sydney.

“He will be here any minute now.” she smirked. “He likes to be fashionably late.”

Just then, someone finally appeared and was making their way towards them on the hanger.

They all turned around and froze as they stared at the newcomer.

“Dr. Queen?!” Fury exclaimed with wide eyes.

“I knew there was something suspicious about him.” Sam muttered as he narrowed his eyes at the man.

“Hey, guys.” Robert smirked smugly as he made his way to Sydney. “Don’t be surprised, Director. You came to me. I didn’t offer my help.”

“But I-how did-“ Fury stammered as his eye kept widening in shock.

Robert laughed as he hugged Sydney tightly who chuckled and hugged back.

“Glad to see you are still alive, Cousin.” He squeezed her in his arms until she was struggling to get out of his hold.

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Looks like you were busy while I was gone.” She laughed as he pulled away but kept his arm around her shoulders and she wrapped her arm around his waist. 

“You’re good.” Natasha commented looking impressed. “You manipulated all of us and played us with almost no effort at all.”

“Well, I learned from the best spy in the world.” He smiled affectionately at her and she stared at him in shock.

“Wait, did you just call Sydney cousin?” Castiel suddenly asked in shock.

“Yup.” he answered shortly with a small smile.

They all paused as they stared at him in concentration, desperately trying to figure out what he wasn’t saying.

“Holy shit!” Tony suddenly exclaimed, getting a warning look from Steve telling he will pay up for the swear jar later. “You are their grandkid!” he pointed at a shocked Sam and Natasha.

 “Ding ding ding! We have a winner! I knew they are calling you a genius for a reason.” Robert laughed getting a hard jab in his side and a glare from Sydney. He turned to Sam and Natasha. “Hey gramps and granny. Sorry about this whole thing.”

They kept blinking stupidly at him then at each other then back at him.

“Wow. Just wow.” Dean shook his head with a chuckle. “This is too much.”

“At least now we know the future of their relationship.” Steve grinned at them happily.

“I still can’t believe this.” Clint was blinking at Robert stupidly.

“Wait, just wait! You mean we will actually get married?” Sam exclaimed giddily. 

“And I will be a mother?” Natasha whispered in disbelieve but a small smile was slowly taking over her face.

“Do I really need to explain how did I come to life? Do you want me to give you the birds and bees talk?” Robert just rolled his eyes.

“Sassy bastard.” Dean sighed. “Great, apparently all our descendants have a high level of sass. Why don’t you just kill me now?”

“Oh, please. You love that.” Castiel chuckled and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, yeah whatever.”

“By the way, I am pretty sure our family will have a field day when they you introduce them to your new girlfriend from the forties.” Robert laughed while her face paled.

“Shit! No! Why did you remind me? This is going to be awkward as hell!”

 Dean and Tony let out a loud bark of laughter at her panicked face while the others chuckled.

“This is too much.” Fury muttered while pinching the bridge of his nose. “I can barely handle the current Avengers and I have been played by their grandkids. I am too old for this. I am getting out of here.”

They laughed at his stress as he stormed away like his life depended on it.

Sydney quieted down and took a look at the waiting ship.

“I guess it is time for us to go.” She said looking back at her family sadly.

“Yeah. We have been away for far too long.” Robert nodded with a small smile then looked at her, his bravado fell away and looked like a little kid then. “I want to go home, Cous.”

She nodded and pulled away after kissing his temple affectionately. “Take Brigitte and get on the ship.”

He looked back at the team who was watching them with small sad smiles.

“Goodbye, guys. It was nice seeing you without gray hair.” He nodded at Sam and Natasha with a smile before turning away and guided Brigitte, who waved goodbye with teary eyes, to the ship.

Sydney looked back at her family.

“We all will miss you, Sydney.” Castiel smiled gently at her and they all nodded along.

“Take care of your team and of yourself.” Steve nodded at her, looking proud.

“We will not forget you.” Tony murmured sadly.

“Yeah, it will be hard to forget you.” Dean smiled crookedly at her.

“Thanks, guys.” she grinned back at them. “I will see you soon, then.”

With one last look at them, she turned and jumped inside her waiting ship.

They all stared as the ship started to raise from the ground then suddenly darted towards the sky and disappeared out of sight.

They kept staring at the place where the ship disappeared for a long time with different feelings mixed through them.

They were happy for her that she finally will go back home, but it will take them decades until they could see her again.

She accidentally gave them what they didn’t know they need. A confirmation of a bright future waiting for them. That they are going to be a family for a very long time. A family that will continue to grow for decades after that.

That their descendants will carry their legacy forever.

She gave them the best gift they could ever wish for and they will forever carry that gratitude until the end of time.

***

“Alright, relax your mind completely. Don’t try to think about anything.”

Castiel instructed looking straight into Bucky’s eyes as he sat in front of him while the rest of the team were surrounding them, watching them intently.

“It is kinda hard to do that with their staring.” Bucky muttered looking pointedly at Steve who was hovering nervously next to him and was held in place by Tony.

“Sorry. I will back off a little.” Steve sighed dejectedly and allowed Tony to pull him a few steps back.

“Are you becoming shy, Barnes?” Dean smirked at him from where he was sitting next to Castiel. Nat and Sam were sitting on the floor next to him, glared up at Dean who just shrugged, his smirk still on his face. Clint, Bruce and Thor were sitting on another couch, watching them quietly.

“Try having all those eyes staring at you, dude.” Bucky glared at Dean with no real heat, then sighed and faced Cas again. “I’m ready.”

Castiel placed his hands on the sides of Bucky’s head and focused his grace on fixing his still shattered mind.

Bucky gasped as he felt his memories rearranging themselves in his brain in an organized rush. Everything came back to his clouded mind. Every detail. Every feeling he ever felt. Every face he had ever seen. Castiel was waking up everything in his mind in an organized way that Bucky wasn’t overwhelmed, he was just relaxed as he watched his life pass through his eyes.

It felt like hours but probably were just minutes when Castiel finally pulled back and placed a hand on his left shoulder. “How do you feel?”

Bucky took a few deep breaths, his eyes wide as he took everything in.

“Bucky?” Steve called out in concern and he looked up at his friend.

“I-I’m fine. I am actually fine.” He smiled happily. “I can remember everything. But-“ he frowned and looked back at Cas. “Why can’t I remember much of my time as the Winter Soldier?”

“I awakened the memories that belonged to James Barnes. The Winter Soldier isn’t you, so you don’t really need his memories.” Castiel just shrugged at him.

“That what I have been saying but you made it sound much more eloquent.” Tony commented and smirked at Castiel who just rolled his eyes.

“Wow, I-I don’t know what to say.” Bucky shook his head in wonder as he stared at Castiel.

“Well, since you haven’t been here in Christmas, I still feel like I need to give you a gift or something.” Castiel smiled at him. “And I have a gift in mind that I am sure you will like.”

“No, really you don’t have to, you already did eno-“ he cut himself off when he felt Castiel’s hand gripping his upper metal arm tightly then his hand, along with Bucky’s metal arm, started to glow.

Everyone in the room froze with slacked jaws as they watched with wide eyes the scene in front of them.

Bucky’s heart almost jumped of his chest as he watched with disbelieving awe as his metal arm started to change right in front of him into an actual, real arm.

A few seconds later, Castiel withdrew his hand and Bucky just sat there and stared at his new arm.

It was a real arm. With flesh, bones and everything. He flexed his fingers and just watched his arm move in wonder.

Castiel just gave him back his memories _and_ his arm. He must be dreaming.

Steve shook himself out of his shock and darted forward, with Tony following close behind, and gripped Bucky’s arm with wide eyes to make sure it was real.

“Oh my God.” Steve murmured in awe as he raised his wide eyes to meet Tony’s shocked ones then they both looked at Castiel. “You-you just did that.”

“Yes?” Castiel looked at them in confusion and looked at Dean, who didn’t seem fazed, and shrugged at his husband with a proud smile.

Bucky shook himself out of his trance and jumped forward to wrap his arms tightly around a startled Castiel.

“Thank you. God, thank you.” he murmured over and over again in Castiel’s shoulder as he felt tears fall on his cheeks but he didn’t care. He was back. He was back to being Bucky Barnes. He was finally free. Free to have a family even if it was crazy and dysfunctional.

Castiel smiled and hugged him back. “You are very welcome.”

“You-you just did that?” Clint stammered.

“That was glorious.” Thor breathed out in wonder while Bruce kept blinking at Castiel.

“This is just Cas being Cas.” Sam shrugged with a proud smile, pulling a still shocked Natasha close to him.

“Actually there is another thing I still need to do. Something I should have done a long time ago.” Castiel announced after pulling away from Bucky. The angel exchanged a meaningful look with Dean that said they had discussed what Cas was about to do before. Castiel got up to his feet and moved so he was standing right in front of Tony who stared up at him in confusion. “Open your shirt, Tony.”

“What?” Tony squeaked out while tensing. “What are-“

“Just open your damn shirt, dude.” Dean said raising an eyebrow at him.

“Why would-I don’t-“

“Steve.” Castiel called out and Steve looked up at him in confusion, but he saw Castiel giving him a meaningful look and he felt his heart beat hard in his chest again.

“Tony, just do-“

“Steve, you know I can’t.” Tony hissed at him so only Steve could hear. “They will see it.”

“I will cover you, okay? No one will see anything except for Cas. You trust Cas, right?”

Tony looked up at Cas who gave him a reassuring smile. He sighed and unbuttoned his shirt with shaking fingers as Steve moved to cover him and wrap his arms around him reassuringly.

Everyone in the room were on their feet now as they watched the scene with their hearts beating loudly.

When Tony finally opened his shirt to allow Castiel to see the arc reactor, the Angel raised a careful hand to rest on it carefully. Immediately, Tony tensed and used all his well power to not flinch away from the unfamiliar touch. Steve’s arms tightened around him in reassurance.

“Relax. It is going to hurt a little.” Castiel warned before he gripped the casing of the reactor and started to pull the whole thing out while his hand glowed from his grace.

Tony gasped at the sharp pain and his struggle to keep the panic at bay. Castiel is not hurting him. Castiel is not trying to kill him. He grabbled at his husband anxiously who held him tightly as he watched Castiel with wide eyes.

Everyone watched, completely frozen, as Castiel removed the entire thing from Tony’s chest then slammed his hand at the gaping hole left behind and the entire room filled with Castiel’s grace that made them all shut their eyes.

When the light fade away, they opened their eyes carefully only to gape at the scene when Steve moved away so they finally could see Tony.

Tony stood there, staring down at his chest. His arc reactor free chest with no trace of it being ever there. He trailed his hand over it in disbelieve then looked up at Steve who was grinning at him with pure happiness.

“Congratulations, Tony. You no longer have a heart problem.” Castiel smiled at him tiredly and opened his fist to show Tony the shrapnels he pulled out of his chest.

 Then Castiel stumbled tiredly and immediately Dean and Bucky were on his sides, helping him to sit on a chair while the others rushed to them.

“Why-Why would you do that for me?” Tony asked in wonder. “It is too much on you in one day. Why did you do that?”

“I know what happened to you in the forties.” Castiel started as he tried to pull himself upright. “It is my fault that man was alive and did that to you. And I should have taken it out months ago, I’m sorry for that.”

“You are apologizing. He is-he is apologizing. Oh my God.” Tony shook his head in disbelieve. “You can’t possibly be real.”

“Tony, you’re fine.” Natasha breathed with wide eyes. “You are really fine.”

“I-I’m. Steve, I am!” Tony let out an almost hysterical laugh. “Steve, I can take a deep breath! I can sleep on my back without being afraid of the reactor crushing my lungs!”

“Yes, Tony. You’re fine. You will always be fine.” Steve chuckled as tears fell slowly from his eyes and he took his perfectly healthy husband in his arms. He raised his eyes and met Castiel’s. In one day, he gave him back his best friend in one piece and removed one of Tony’s biggest fears and struggles. This angel just keeps saving him over and over again. “Thank you. Just-Thank you. For everything.” he whispered with all the emotions rising inside him.  

“You are an incredibly good friend, Castiel.” Thor smiled at him, eyes filled with emotion.

“You can’t be real, honestly.” Clint shook his head with a chuckle.

They all just kept murmuring in disbelieve and staring at both Tony and Bucky until they finally noticed that Castiel fell asleep on Dean’s shoulder.

“Well, I guess it is time for bed for him.” Dean chuckled fondly at the sleeping angel next to him.

Bucky smiled and patted Castiel’s shoulder with his new hand, while Tony looked up at Dean.

“This was your idea, was it?” Tony murmured, already knowing it was true and already knew that the older Winchester will deny it.

“I don’t like you that much, dude.” Dean just shrugged nonchalantly. “Sammy, help me with this idiot.”

Sam just smiled at his brother knowingly, then moved to help along with Thor who insisted to help.

As the three of them escorted Castiel out of the room, the others just stood there looking at each other, still not believing what happened.

Bruce moved to grab the abandoned reactor from the floor and looked back at them.

This actually just happened.

Steve started to laugh hysterically and soon the others followed him and they bend over from how hard they were laughing.

Steve couldn’t believe it. For the first time in probably forever, everything was actually, truly perfect, with an even more perfect future waiting for them.

And all thanks to two hunters, an Angel and a team of superheroes.

The family he waited decades for.

The family Tony told him about seventy years ago.

He still didn’t regret his choice to get on the plane. And he suspects that he never will.

This is his life. His time. Where he truly belonged.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And Done!
> 
> That got way longer than I planned. Probably the longest thing I ever written.
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed my story, please tell me what you think. Your comments are what keeps me going.
> 
> Stay tuned for the next part of the series ;)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. please tell me what you think.


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